Love's Labors Lost
by Kyo's Querida1293
Summary: After nearly half a century of peace, what will happen when Albus Severus Potter is faced with more tragedy than even he can handle? And can Rosalind Snape heal him, or are her efforts wasted?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Welcome to "Love's Labors Lost". I'm Kyo's Querida (Joanna) and I'm so glad to be back on fanfiction after a two year hiatus. I really hope my writing's improved and I'm really excited to be back. **

**Before I go on I have to tell you that the story you'll be reading isn't jsut my work but a combination of my work and my best friend and co-worker's work. She goes by the penname Indiana13 (Bronnie) and you should definitely check out her work because she is awesome.**

**LLL has been our brain child for a while. We've been working on this idea for what seems like forever and it has been re-worked SO many times before we were able to post. We knew we loved Harry Potter, we both like Snape (Bronnie more than I) and we really wanted to play with an idea that was new and unique. And so the plot began. We hope you like it, and we know it's an odd plot and quite a few of you will be tempted to flame and just so you know your flames will be used to roast our marshmellows.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all!**

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**Chapter 1:**

Rosalind Ann rushed down the hall, trying vainly to write an essay while getting to her potions class. She feared that she was late, but as she glanced at her watch, she suddenly understood that she _was_ late. Rosalind choked, and stopped, allowed the ink to spill all over the floor, and a few pieces of parchment to flutter into the ink puddle. She took a wrong turn because of her agitation, but finally made it down to the dungeon at a record of twenty three minutes late to class.

She opened the door, hoping somehow that it would be quiet and she could slip into the back rows of the room undetected. However, it screeched as loud as though it _wanted _to let the easily annoyed potions master at the front of the room know she was very tardy. She stood stock-still as gaunt man teaching the class turned serenely to face her.

"I can hardly say I'm surprised," he said tiredly. "See me after class."

"But I – "

"After class." He spat. With that, Professor Snape turned his back on the young girl, and left her to fester in annoyance at her father.

…

The cold five feet between them told Rosalind that there was something else bothering her adoptive father, not just her being nearly half an hour late for his class. But as usual, he said nothing about his true feelings, and looked up at her with the general icy stare that he used on the rest of his students.

"Twenty three minutes." He said coldly.

"Yes, I know dad, but – "

"_Professor_." He spat. After a moment's pause, Rosalind gave in.

"Alright. I know, _Professor_, but I was – " she was again cut off by her angry father's words.

"This is what….the _third_ time you've been late to my class?" he said. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and said nothing. The Professor looked at his daughter with a measured look of disappointment.

"Tell me Rosalind," she shuddered at the sound of her name. "Why are you late this time? Another altercation with Scorpius Malfoy? A spirited conversation with Mr Filch..." He stopped only because he saw the half-finished essay sticking out of her pocket. With one fluid wave of his arm, the paper was resting in his hand. It had more inkblots than words, and Snape noticed that his daughter had misspelled 'snorcack' and 'pygmy.'

"...or did you forget to do your work...again?" She cringed a second time.

"Well, you see father-"

"_PROFESSOR_." He spat.

"_PROFESSOR_. I couldn't understand the topic." Her excuse was feeble, and said lamely, as though she was quite afraid of what he would do. Snape, however, after a moment of trying to decipher the writing, crumpled it and tossed it in the fire grate. Rosalind groaned.

"Detention tonight will be you cleaning the classroom. Because of its size, I will allow you to use _one _cleaning charm. Be here." The Professor said. As Rosalind began to protest, however, he gave her such a look that she was surprised she had not simply shriveled away and died.

"Y-yes," she whispered. "Father." Before he had the chance to correct her, though, Rosalind was out the door, and thinking of all the horrid things that she'd rather do with her one cleaning charm.

…

Albus Severus Potter was in a bad mood to say the least. There he sat, stewing in the Slytherin common room, all the while not knowing that another being had entered, who was equally upset.

"What's the matter, Potter?" she spat. He turned, and found that he was staring at Rosalind Ann Snape. He glared.

"Nothing." He replied. She plopped down on the couch beside him, and searched his face for a moment. He felt extremely uncomfortable under her searching stare, but after a moment she diverted her attention to her fingernails.

"Detention?" she asked. He let out a choked laugh, but agreed.

"Yeah, McGonagall's mad at me because I transfigured her hat into a vulture." He sniggered. Albus was surprised to find that Rosalind laughed along.

"Well, what's the matter with you, you don't look so well either." He said. She nodded, and sighed.

"My dad just gave me detention for being late to class…and not handing in his essay." She mumbled.

"With his track-record, you're lucky that you're _alive_." Albus snorted. Rosalind shot him a withering glance that made Albus wonder whether she was adopted after all. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he decided to speak again.

"Um…where?"

"Cleaning the dungeon." She moaned. He nodded.

"Yeah, I've got to mop up the Owlery. Listen, Scorpius and I wanted to know if you and Rose wanted to come with us…we're going to Hogsmede next week…o-only if you want to though." He said this all in a rush, as though he was worried what she might say. She seemed to consider this, but at that moment, a clock chimed seven, and Rosalind threw herself off the couch.

"Listen Al, I really have to go. If I'm late for detention, my dad'll have me skinned. I'll get back to you on Hogsmede!" and with that, she vanished, leaving a very small knot of worry in Albus' stomach.

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**Well, we hope you enjoyed! Remember to review!**

**~Kyo's Querida & Indiana13**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Welcome back to LLL! To those of you who put us on your alert lists I'd like to thank you profusely for supporting our story and beg of you one thing. Reviews. We only have one review and that's from one of our close friends. Whether you liked it or not just leave a comment. Nice job or this sucks would suffice. I'd just really like to see what you guys think about it. Especially you guys who put us on alert. What do you like? What don't you like? And although I did say flames will be used to roast our marshmellows there is nothing wrong with serious constructive criticism.**

**Now that that's out of the way I'd like to say enjoy! I wrote this chapter whereas Bronnie, my co-author, wrote the previous one (we alternate each chapter so if you see slightly different writing styles in the chapters you aren't imagining things). So I'll be extra anxious to see what you guys think about this one!!**

**So remember read it! Enjoy it! And review it!**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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Chapter 2:

Rosalind shuffled down to her detention, a blush staining her face and Albus' nervous face still imprinted in her memory. Had Albus Severus Potter just asked her out? It wasn't that she wasn't happy, quite the opposite actually. She remembered the first time she had met him.

It had been her first week at Hogwarts. She had been busy all week getting used to classes and getting to know the other people in her house and year. She had been sorted into Slytherrin, and thank Merlin for that. Her relationship with her father was already anything but warm and loving. She was pretty sure that if she was sorted in any other house (especially Gryffindor) her father would never look her way again. But it was finally the weekend and she was going to spend her day in the library. Are you really surprised? With a father like Severus Snape, did you expect anything else?

Out of all the wondrous things in Hogwarts, Rosalind loved the library the most. It had everything from spell books and biographies of famous wizards to some of the great muggle classics. She loved to read, she'd read anything and everything. As soon as she was able to read she slowly but surely began to work her way through all the books in the numerous bookshelves at Spinner's End. As soon as she entered the library she collected a large pile of books which she could hardly keep balanced and walked carefully over to a plush armchair. She didn't realize how late it was until Madame Pince said that it was nearly curfew. She immediately hopped up and began to rush about the library trying to find the proper place for all her books. Realizing that she had ten minutes to get the rest of her books away and down to her dorm, she began to hurry. As it turns out, a large tittering pile of books plus a small eleven year old girl traveling at a fast speed does not equal a happy ending. Rosalind didn't even register there was another person around her until she collided with him. The books flew into the air as both people fell onto the ground with an ompff!

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she frantically apologized, her dark brown hair flying around her and gold-flecked hazel eyes sparkling as she ran over to the boy she had knocked over. As she approached him she recognized him from around the common room. How could she not remember that wild black hair and those bright green eyes? As she helped him up he gave her a small smile and said

"It's okay, I was rushing too." Rosalind returned the smile and continued to try to stack and pick up all the books she'd lost. Seeing that she was struggling to pick up the books the boy slid his hands between the books and took half of her pile. She began to protest but he quickly silenced her "Please. Let me help. We'll get done faster and hopefully back to the dorms on time."

She let him take the books and although they had to hurry, they did make it back to their dorm Filch free. She was surprised at how well the conversation flowed between them and she wasn't even sure of his name yet! When they hit the stairs leading to the dormitories she finally introduced herself

"I'm Rosalind, by the way. Rosalind Snape."

"Snape? Any relation to the professor?"

She gave a great sigh and replied "yes, he's my father. He adopted me eight years ago after I was dumped on his doorstep."

He hummed in response and added "Well, he certainly doesn't seem the fathering type."

"Oh believe me, he's not the normal loving, caring father. He's…he's different. It doesn't matter though, I owe him a lot. He didn't have to take me in but he did and quite frankly I love him for it." She said happily.

"Quite reasonable, I'm Albus by the way. Albus Severus Potter. I'm a year ahead of you." She smiled and nodded.

"I know. Wait…Potter? Any relation to the leader of the golden trio, Harry Potter?"

He smiled at her mocking his earlier question and simply responded "Yes, he's my father."

There was silence for a few moments and then Albus spoke to her with a questioning look "Rosalind, huh? Like Rosalind in "As You Like It"?" her thin face broke into a wide grin.

"Yes! She's who I'm named after! No one has ever guessed that before! Hardly anyone our age knows Shakespeare." She cried.

He chuckled at her and said "I've always been a bit of a bookworm."

She joined in his laughter and said "Well I'm glad I have company then. Well we better head to bed. It's late. Good night Albus. It was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Rosalind. Sweet dreams." And with one final wave and a smile, he left.

Since that day she and Albus had been good friends. But if Rosalind said that there wasn't a small part of her that longed for more than friendship with Albus then she'd be lying. And this was the reason that when she entered the dungeons, where her father was dutifully waiting for her, she wore a goofy smile while practically skipping inside. The professor looked up from grading papers to see his daughter standing in front of his daughter staring off into space dreamily.

"Rosalind?"

She continued to gaze off, staring at a corner of the potion's dungeon that was not in any way shape or form remotely interesting.

"Rosalind?"

She actually giggled a little this time.

"ROSALIND!" he thundered.

"O! Hi Daddy!" she waved her hand enthusiastically at him.

He raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off "Sorry! Professor…I meant Professor!" She threw her arms up in protest and giggled. Again. Snape looked at his daughter with a look of confusion mingled with suspicion.

"Rosalind, have you accepted any mysterious looking drinks from anyone tonight?" He said thinking that she must've been given some sort of love potion.

"No Da-Professor! I'm just…" she gave a great shuddering sigh "Never mind! Do you have the cleaning supplies I'll be using tonight?"

He handed her the bucket full of soapy water and sponges and sent her on her way to scrub the floor. He tried to get back to grading his papers but his daughter's disturbing behavior was quite distracting. She was scrubbing the floors with a glazed over expression humming a song he seems to remember her hearing in one of those muggle movies her babysitter used to show her. Cinderella was it?

He continued to study his daughter's odd behavior until he realized that curfew was soon approaching.

"Rosalind, you can go now. You only have fifteen minutes to get back to your dorm so hurry. And do not be late not my class again Rosalind. I will not be as lenient next time." He finished this off with an icy cold death glare that usually made his daughter shrivel into submission. Instead she merely looked slightly abashed and said "I'll try daddy, I'll try. Good night."

He usually would've made some sort of comment to her about using that daddy title on him. But she was already frolicking out of the room. Since when did his daughter frolic? He had tried to teach her to be somewhat level headed. But well…this was her fourth detention with him this year alone. And it was only October. Severus sighed and held his head in his hands.

"Oh, where did I go wrong?" he groaned.

…

When Rosalind got to the entrance of her common room she knew that she had to get some sort of handle on herself. She had already gotten her father's attention with her behavior she really didn't want to do so with her nosy roommates. She took a deep breath and stepped through the door. She was taken by surprise when she saw none other than Albus, sitting in front of the fireplace reading a small leather-bound volume. When he heard the door open he lifted his head and gave her a smile.

"You waited for me?" she asked, a blush slowly spreading across her cheeks. There goes getting a handle on herself…

"Yep, I couldn't wait to get the answer you promised me." He said somewhat nervously.

"Well it's a yes." She said as she sat on the arm of the chair he was occupying, giving him a small smile to match Albus'.

"I'll be looking forward to it." She gathered her courage a leant forward and pecked him on the cheek. Both of them blushing furiously Rosalind got up and walked toward the stairs to the dorms. She turned around and said "Good night Albus. Sweet dreams."

She ran up the stairs so quickly that she missed Albus staring after her blushing, with wide eyes, clutching the cheek she had just kissed. As he watched her retreating form he whispered "Good night Rosalind."

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**Well??? What'd ya think? If you say "Well Joanna, it was a bit fluffy." I would have to agree. You see I'm working with Bronnie for a reason. Whereas I tend to gravitate towards fluff, she gravitates towards angst. So we figured together we'd be able to write a somewhat balanced story. **

**Well, remember what I said about reviews before. I hope you liked it and whenever Bronnie *coughcoughhinthintnudgenudge HURRYUPBEFOREISTEALYOURSNAPEDOLLASRANSOM coughcoughhinthintnudgenudge* finishes up Chapter 3 you'll be hearing from me again.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Kyo's Querida & Indiana13 **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. We're back with chapter 3 and let me just say the response to my request for reviews was a disgrace. One person reviewed. (Thank you .!!!) Look we're writing this because we love to write and we're not going to stop until we complete it but it would really be nice if we had SOME sort of encouragement or even critique to go on! We have nothing. So we're just going to keep doing what we're doing and we really hope you guys decide to voice some sort of opinion soon because looking at the actual published story and looking at the reviews so far does nothing but depress me. **

**Anyway, this is Bronnie's chapter. I'll get on writing mine tomorrow. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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Saturday came, bleak and rainy. The enchanted ceiling over the great hall made Rosalind shudder; she had never liked the rain. This weather always annoyed her, calling to mind memories of her father yelling at her for tracking mud in their home, for getting her duvet wet and then refusing to change her sheets.

Rosalind was very cold, and she was suddenly conscious of her sweater being far too small and worn. She wondered why she hadn't asked her father to buy her something new in Diagon Alley, but she then recalled that, knowing her father, he would've given her a very odd look, and swept off in that way that he did. She was angered by the very thought of it. As she stood there, stewing in annoyance at her father, she did not hear Albus Severus come up behind her, and when he tapped her shoulder, she shot several feet in the air. She landed on the floor with a dull thump, and glared up at the laughing Albus Severus.

"Don't bloody do that!" she screeched.

"Alright, I won't," he laughed, giving his hand to her. She took it grudgingly, her eyes still shooting daggers at him. "But if you want to go, we've got to hurry. The group's leaving in ten minutes." They both rushed to the group of excited students, shifting around as assorted professors took permission slips and handed them notes of leave. Rosalind and Albus Severus both joined the queue that stretched in front of Professor McGonagall, who looked rather tired and exasperated. When they reached the professor, however, she gave them each a very withering look.

"Go to the head of your house." She spat. The two of them sighed and walked over to Professor Snape, who was looking more and more surprised the closer they came. He collected Albus Severus' permission slip with a look of horror, which only intensified when Rosalind asked Albus Severus where he wanted to go first. As they turned, Rosalind heard her father's commanding voice call "Rosalind, may I speak with you for a moment?" She looked apologetically at Albus Severus, and walked unhurriedly back to her father.

"Yes dad?" she asked.

"Professor." He hissed. She rolled her eyes, but the look her father gave to her made her wish that she hadn't.

"Yes Professor?" she asked timidly.

"What is the meaning of this…? Associating with the Potter boy?" he growled.

"We're friends, Professor," She said. "Or is that a problem?"

"No daughter of mine is going to 'befriend' any son of Potter's." he spat. She glared, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I can be friends with whoever I want to be friends with. Come off it." She said angrily, turning to go. Her father placed an icy hand on her shoulder, and turned her around so quickly that she almost fell to the floor. Albus Severus almost ran to help her, but was stopped by another withering glance from the Potions Master. He stayed a considerable distance away from the professor, as he once again addressed his daughter.

"I don't care…his father and his grandfather were absolute bastards…it runs in the family Rosalind, and I don't want you to associate yourself with," a disgusted look was shot at Albus Severus. "That."

"That has a name, that is my friend, and that is taking me to Hogsmede, PROFESSOR!" she shrilled. Her father seemed quite taken aback by this outburst, and backed away from his daughter just long enough for her to turn on her heel and march back to Albus Severus, with a very determined face. As Albus Severus looked back at her father however, he was filled with dread. This certainly wasn't going to help his Potions mark.

…

Albus Severus and Rosalind went to The Three Broomsticks first, lingering over mugs of butterbeer. Conversation did not flow as well as Albus Severus expected, and he was about to ask if she wanted to leave and go to Honeyduke's, when Scorpius Malfoy trooped in, followed by a gaggle of Slytherins, all talking far too loudly.

"Al!" he cried, running over and wringing his best friend's hand and sitting beside Rosalind in their booth. "Al, where have you been mate? I've been looking all over…Rose is hanging about with her family, and a couple of family friends, they're here today! That's why I couldn't stay with her -" he stopped short when he noticed Rosalind's presence.

"Snape." He regarded her coolly.

"Malfoy." She responded with equal, if not more coolness.

"Well, this is an unpleasant surprise." He said icily. She glared at the blond boy.

"Not just for you, Malfoy." Rosalind muttered. She took another sip of her butterbeer.

"What's that supposed to mean, Snape?" he asked loudly. Albus Severus stood up, and put a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Is this the place or time to fight, you two?" he asked. They both stared at each other through narrowed eyes, as if to say that it was the perfect time and place to fight, but eventually Rosalind looked away. Scorpius nodded his head, and shouted for Madam Rosmerta.

"Anyway, what were you saying about Rose?" Albus Severus asked, hoping to bring life back into the conversation.

"She's hanging about with her father, and some friends of the family. They're in Hogsmede today–"

With that, the door flew open, and in walked a very tall red headed man holding the hand of a woman with brown frizzy hair and a pretty, smiling face. Behind them trooped a man with mussed black hair and glasses. Albus Severus stood up, and in pure shock, blurted the word "Dad!"

The man with black hair and glasses turned around, unwinding the scarf from his neck and smiling broadly.

"Well Al! This is a rather pleasant surprise!"

He walked over to his son, and clapped him on the shoulders.

"What are you doing here dad?" he asked, still in utter shock.

"Oh, just a couple of things for the Auror's office, you know. Nothing particularly interesting," He said. "I could ask you the same question. I don't remember signing your permission slip to come here…"

As though on cue, Professor Snape swept in, looking murderous, and holding Albus Severus' permission slip.

…

"POTTER!" he thundered, making the entire pub go quiet. He stalked over, making every oune of color drain from Albus Severus' face.

"If you think that I'm going to be fooled by this horrible forgery of your father's signature, you are sorely mistaken. Detention for–" he was coolly interrupted by Harry's voice.

"Now, now Professor, there's no need to get upset. He just wanted to go to Hogsmede with his friends…and since I'm here now, I'm sure it's excusable." He said. The Potions Master's lip curled into the age-old smirk that Harry had become accustomed to in his days as a student.

"On the contrary, Potter," he snarled. "He has lied to a school official, and to the entire administration itself. This offense cannot go unpunished. He will serve detention for the rest of the week." Albus Severus opened his mouth in protest, but his father beat him to it.

"Really Professor Snape, is this necessary?" he asked.

"Yes." Snape replied dully.

"I don't think that my son should be subject to such treatment–"

"Oh, your son doesn't deserve this sort of treatment!" Snape cried. The pub was so quiet, a pin could easily be heard dropping. "Your son is so very special! The child of The Chosen One is so important, so special that he doesn't deserve to be touched by administrative rules and regulations! You expect that he'll have the same ride you and your father did."

By the time he was finished shouting, every pair of eyes was on him, and his chest heaved up and down. He looked right at Rosalind, and spat "I'll see you later."

With that, he swept out of the pub, leaving everyone rather awed and surprised. Harry looked at Rosalind, and then at his son.

"We're going." He said quietly.

"But dad, I–" Albus Severus was cut off by his angry father.

"Don't interrupt. We're going, now." Harry said. He grabbed his son's wrist, and dragged him out of the little bar, leaving Rosalind upset and very confused.

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**O Bronnie, you enjoy mucking things up way too much. Ah well, I will work with this next chapter. Thanks for reading guys. **

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!!!**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Welcome back. I wrote this chapter so I apologize in advanced for it being uber long. I just worked my butt off trying to fit in everything I wanted and then Bronnie requested I add something. So I just typed away squeezing it all in and next thing I know I have nine pages of chapter. So I hope you like and remember REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **

***SPECIAL THANKS TO .!!! OUR FAITHFUL REVIEWER!***

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all.**

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Chapter 4:

Rosalind just sat there for a few minutes, not able to bring herself to move. What had just happened to her date? Ah yes, it had just crashed and burned thanks to one Harry Potter and her own father.

As her shock wore off Rosalind felt her anger consume her. How could Albus have been so stupid?! His father adored him! If Al had owled him even the night before he could've had his slip signed on time. And where did her father get off running in like that?! Rosalind grabbed her coat and threw down the galleons she owed before storming off.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been this angry. Her vision blurred as she made her way back to the castle. She knew that at least two people had said hello to her in the hall but she just kept walking, she was so past caring. When she got to her dorm she threw herself onto her bed and took deep breathes, trying to calm down. After a few minutes she flipped onto her back and stared up at the green and silver velvet curtains around her bed. How had today gone so bad, so quickly?

She got off her bed and looked in the mirror. Her face was red partially from the windy day outside, partially from her anger. Her long dark brown hair was a mess and her hazel eyes were glazed over. As she reached up to the shelf above the mirror for her brush her too small sweater rose up showing a good inch and a half of skin. Rosalind sighed as she started to brush her almost waist long hair. "I need a haircut and some new clothes." She sighed again. "And less drama. A lot less drama."

Rosalind let her head fall onto the cold mirror glass as she groaned in frustration. She was so busy wallowing in her anger that she didn't hear the door to her dorm open.

"You're back already? I thought you'd still be out on your dream date."

Rosalind spun around so quickly she had to grab onto a bedpost to keep from falling over. In front of her was none other than Celia Steele, her roommate and closest female friend, her light green eyes sparkled in amusement as she smiled at her friend. Rosalind huffed as she flopped onto the bed and recounted her botched date to her friend.

"O Merlin, that really was bad. And believe me, I've had some bad first dates myself."

Rosalind snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're telling me."

Celia pulled her into a comforting hug and said "Well it was going pretty well before, right? Maybe you can give it another try. You know what they say 'if at first you don't succeed…'"

"Yeah, well I'm not convinced. Maybe fate is trying to tell me something."

Celia opened her mouth to reassure her friend again but Rosalind cut her off. "Look, I just need to think for a while. I'm going to the library. I'll see you at dinner."

Celia frowned a bit but still agreed and Rosalind set off towards her destination. When she entered the library Rosalind headed towards her favorite, secluded corner where her favorite plush armchair was practically calling her name. She was surprised when she turned the corner to find one Albus Severus Potter occupying her armchair. When she saw him she came to a screeching halt and just stared at him for a good five minutes until he broke the silence.

"When I got back from Hogsmede I went to the common room and you weren't there. So I went looking for you here. I knew you'd come eventually."

"Ah." It was all she could think of to say. She was sure if she started talking it would end in her screaming at him.

"Look," Albus began, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out today. I-when I didn't get it signed I didn't think-"

"I just don't unders-" Rosalind interrupted but quickly stopped herself, not wanting to say something she'd regret later. She sighed and continued "It's fine."

"No it's not. It was stupid. I didn't even realize that I had forgotten to get it signed until that morning. I…I was just so busy thinking about actually going that I didn't think about the permission slip." He said, blushing as he said the last part.

Rosalind gave a small smile at the red tint across his face. He seemed to be honestly apologetic. Plus how could he stay mad at a face like that? She was about to vocalize this when Albus opened his mouth again.

"But even though it was my fault did Snape really have to run in like that? If it wasn't for him it would've gone much better. And then he didn't even let my dad sign it there! Ridiculous!"

Any feeling of forgiveness Rosalind had towards him was annihilated by that statement. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she hissed "Excuse me?"

Albus gave a small chuckle and said "C'mon Rosalind! Your father is miserable! You've said it yourself! He doesn't let anyone do anything. He's judgmental and refuses to give up his stupid grudges. He holds a grudge against my whole family for something my grandfather did when they were in school. He walks around here with a stick up his ar-"

"Don't you dare!" Rosalind yelled. Something about what he had said made her snap. It didn't matter that what he said was partially true. It didn't matter that she herself was also angry at her father. She saw red. "I may have said some things about my father in the past but you deserved what you got today! You broke the rules, so you got in trouble for it! And wasn't something your grandfather did to him in school! He made his life a living hell! I would be a bit miffed too! And don't act like this is entirely his fault. Your father had to come in and provoke him."

"My father! Provoke him? He did no such-"

"He knew! Your father knew how my father felt about him and he still tried to weasel you out of trouble!"

They glared at each other for a few minutes the anger coursing through their veins.

"Well," Rosalind said, finally breaking the silence. "Maybe it was better that they did break up our date." And with a turn that would make one doubt that she was indeed adopted, stormed off towards her dorm yet again.

When she threw open the door to the fifth year girls dormitory she saw her other roommates, Phoebe and Audrey, had joined Celia. They all looked up in curiosity and concern as Rosalind fell onto her bed with a harsh sigh of frustration for the second time that day.

The three other girls looked at each other questioningly and shrugged. Celia timidly walked over to her friend.

"Rosalind? Rosalind dear, did…did something happen in the library?" she questioned.

Rosalind shot up from the bed, sitting bolt upright. "Something indeed!" she said scathingly. "I'll never talk to that boy again."

As she proceeded to recount her exchange with Albus in the library, finding it almost soothing as she ranted. At the end of her retelling she sat, back against her headboard, squeezing a pillow so tight she was afraid it'd burst. An awkward silence had consumed the room, no one quite sure what to say.

Rosalind's eyes wandered across the room and landed on the clock.

"You guys better get to dinner. I'm not too hungry. I'll see you later." She buried her head in the pillow and felt two hands squeeze her shoulder comfortingly before hearing feet shuffle out of the room.

"I meant you too Celia." She said, knowing her friend had stayed behind.

"And leave you here to wallow in your sadness alone?"

Rosalind's head shot up and she said "I am not sad! I am pissed of-"

But she cut herself off as she looked into Celia's penetrating gaze. She couldn't hide anything from her.

"Look, Rosalind. I know you really liked him. It's okay to be upset." She leaned over and gave her a warm hug. "I know what we're going to do! The weekend isn't over yet. Tomorrow I will take you back to Hogsmeade for an early birthday present!"

Rosalind raised an eyebrow at that. "My birthday isn't for another month."

Celia rolled her eyes while pushing a white-blonde strand of hair out of her eyes. "I know, I know. It's December 21st. But you need it."

"And what do you have planned for me?"

"Well number one, a haircut because the hippy look isn't exactly working for you." She said as she tugged on a lock of Rosalind's bedraggled hair. "And number two some new clothes because I'm pretty sure that if you wear that sweater one more time it will fall apart. Plus you know how I feel about shopping!" She said as she giggled and bounced a bit.

Rosalind gave her a smile and a small chuckle as she asked "How the hell were you sorted into Slytherin?"

"I have my ways." Celia said with a smirk and a wink of her eye. "Now c'mon! Be excited!"

"Alright, I'll bite. I'm excited."

…

The next morning came quicker than Rosalind expected. She walked into the great hall and took her seat next to Celia. She looked up at the enchanted ceiling to see that it showed a beautiful clear blue sky. She decided that it was most probably a good omen and decided that she really should be excited about today.

As soon as Rosalind had finished her last bite of toast an all together way too excited Celia dragged her out towards the entrance. Rosalind's laughter at her friend's antics died away as she spotted her father standing near the doors, clearing all the people in his house so they could leave. When Celia had noticed that Rosalind had dug her heels in and refused to go any further she turned around and gave her a confused look. She followed Rosalind's glare and realized what the problem was.

She gave a sympathetic smile and said "C'mon. It's just for a minute." She grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the professor.

Rosalind's glare didn't leave her face as she approached her father almost squeezing Celia's hand off in anger. When they approached him Celia was all smiles and politeness.

"Good morning, Professor."

"Ms. Steele." He said with a brief nod. "You may go."

Celia began to walk away while Rosalind breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had escaped her father. But alas, she had thought too soon.

"Rosalind, come back here."

"Damn." She muttered as she cast Celia an apologetic glance and turned around to meet her father.

"Yes, Professor?" she with only an ounce of the anger she felt towards her father at the moment showing in her voice.

"Not so keen on that Potter boy anymore, are you?" He had said the name as if it was the dirtiest vilest word on the face of the planet.

Rosalind could think of SO many responses to that question but since she really didn't want any more detentions she simply said "No, sir. I am not."

He gave her a smirk and said "I knew as soon as you heard what that family was really like you'd see reason. Once I showed you what fools they all are."

It was true. Rosalind really didn't want to get another detention. But that smirk pissed her off.

"Oh sir, it is true that am not, as you put it, 'so keen on that Potter boy anymore'. But I can assure you it had nothing to do with that show you put on yesterday." Rosalind put as much emphasis on show as he had on Potter. "Good bye Professor."

With that she turned on her heel and followed Celia out the front door.

"Urgh!" she screamed in frustration. "These men are obviously out to drive me insane! All of them!"

Celia looped her arm in hers and said "I know, I know. But the rest of the day will be all for you. So just take a deep breath and forget about all of them."

Rosalind followed her instructions and tried to remember the optimism she had started today with.

…

To say Rosalind was scared would be an understatement. Celia had plopped her down in a chair with a hair stylist, put a blind fold over her eyes to keep it a "surprise" and told her that she would come back with a whole new wardrobe for her. She felt the scissors cutting away at the long locks and prayed for Celia to get back soon.

…

To say Rosalind was happier than she had been ever since her disaster of a date the afternoon before would be an understatement. She was on cloud nine. Her hair and had been completely chopped off to just above her shoulders. Afterwards she had spent the day just walking around Hogsmeade with Celia. It had been a very relaxing afternoon and she appreciated Celia doing it for her. She was currently in her dorm changing into some of her new clothes Celia has laid out for her. She had yet to see any of the other new clothes she had acquired. She pulled on her new jeans and boots and looked at the top Celia had left for her with suspicion. It looked sort of…small…and revealing. But Celia wouldn't lead her astray, would she? Rosalind quickly threw on the shirt and ran downstairs.

She had gotten all sorts of weird looks as she travelled downstairs, she didn't understand why though. Maybe it was the new hair. As she entered the great hall and approached Celia, Rosalind noticed several things at once. One being Celia's smirk, another being her father's sudden choking spasm as his eyes bugged out of his head and the final one being Albus staring at her with slightly darkened wide eyes, his jaw hanging slightly open.

Rosalind stalked over to Celia and was about to ask her what the hell was happening when she saw her reflection. The top Celia had given her was indeed extremely tight and revealing. In fact it accentuated her chest. Blushing furiously Rosalind leaned over the table and harshly whispered to Celia "What the hell did you buy me?"

"Oh that? That's not for you. That's mine."

"What?!" she scream-whispered at Celia. She was about to add on to her question when she caught her reflection again and realized that leaning over did not help her situation. She stood bolt upright and threw her arms over her chest, blushing furiously. "You're two sizes smaller than me!"

"Exactly!" said Celia, her smirk had still not left her face.

"Are you out to make me look like a who-"

'Of course not!" said Celia, genuinely offended.

"But-"

"Look around Rosalind." She said nodding in the general direction of Snape and Albus.

Rosalind took in their expressions' and smiled, even laughed a bit.

"And you ask how I was sorted into Slytherin." Celia said with a wink.

"As much as I appreciate your efforts dear," Rosalind looked over at Phoebe and asked "can I borrow your sweater?"

Phoebe agreed and forked over her cardigan. Rosalind looked over at Celia and gave her one of her first genuine smiles since the afternoon before. "Thanks" she mouthed.

Celia just patted her hand.

…

It had been ten days since her altercation with Albus and they hadn't talked since. Rosalind didn't want to admit it but she missed him. Every time they passed in the hall and their eyes met they quickly looked away. They never talked. She missed how they'd just talk in front of the fire at night when everyone else was going up to bed. But she wasn't going to just give in. He owed her an apology and until then she'd just have to do without.

It was a Tuesday night and Rosalind was actually trying to get some work done for her classes the next day. But she was finding it hard to concentrate with Albus sitting right across the way from her. It was very awkward and she could feel the tension crackling in the air. This had to end soon. Rosalind looked down at her essay to see that she had rewritten the same sentence three times. She sighed and used her wand to erase the useless words. When she looked up from her essay she saw one Scorpius Malfoy looking back and forth between her and Albus.

"O you've got to be kidding me!" he said exasperatedly. "You're still not talking? You know when I sent Al down here I expected to come back here in an hour and see you two snogging in the stacks."

Albus glared at Scorpius blushing and giving him a look that obviously said 'SHUT UP'. Rosalind just looked between the two of them confused.

"Ugh!" Scorpius groaned. "Do I have to spell it out for you two?"

Scorpius grabbed Albus's wrist and dragged him over to Rosalind's table.

"Look. Albus you were wrong. It was completely idiotic to not get your paper signed. Your dad is great but he should've known that saying that stuff would provoke Snape. They never have gotten along and the never will. Snape. You were right to be a little mad at Albus for not making sure everything ran smoothly, but I can assure you he only forgot to do it because he was too busy daydreaming about your date the next day like a lovesick puppy to notice anything else. And admit it your father is a hard ass. He could've confronted Albus later but he did it in public and in front of you because of some preconceived notion he has of Al because of something a man he's never even met did to him forty years ago. I don't know about you Snape but I know Al and I know he's sorry and I know he's been dying to just talk to you again so please for my sanity just kiss and make up!"

Rosalind just looked at Albus and said "Is what he said true? Are you sorry?"

Albus fell into the chair next to her and took her hands in his. "Yes! I spoke out of frustration that I messed up our day so royally. I'm so so so sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you. I will beg!"

Rosalind looked to the side and saw Scorpius has scampered away, probably to go find Rose. She looked back at Al to see his green eyes practically begging for her forgiveness, his wild black hair falling into his eyes. "I'm sorry too. I let my anger get the best of me. You are forgiven."

Al let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in and kissed the hands he was holding and hugged her.

"How about we try this whole date thing again this Saturday?"

Rosalind smiled "You got it."

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**Thanks for reading guys! Hope you liked it. Stay tuned for Chapter 5.**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!  
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**~Kyo's Querida & Indiana13**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! We're back with another chappie! And it is quite cute. I am proud of you Bronnie. You wrote something so cute *wipes eyes*. Consider yourself warned. Anyway hope you like it! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns it all. **

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The time before breakfast in the Slytherin common room wasn't exactly one of hustle and bustle. Many students were either still up in their dormitories dressing and preparing for the day, or were already in the Great Hall, enjoying what the house elves had prepared. Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, however, were still in the common room. Scorpius was sprawled out on one of the black leather sofas, and was looking sourly at his companion, who was trying very hard to finish a History of Magic essay a few minutes before the class began. Albus didn't look up at him, though he could feel Scorpius' cold eyes on his back.

"If you've got a problem, Scorpius old pal," Albus spat without looking up. "You _can_ talk to me about it instead of staring at me, and waiting for me to read your bloody mind."

"No problem…you seeing Snape again Saturday?" he asked, almost too casually. Albus made a grunting sound that, to most people, would be an answer in the affirmative.

"Why?" Scorpius asked. Albus' bony shoulders drew themselves up in a shrug.

"Rosalind's nice, and I like her a lot. What else do you date a girl for?" he replied. Scorpius lounged on the couch, but Albus could feel an icy chill creep into the room. It had nothing to do with the fact that the common room was in the dungeon, or that there were undoubtedly drafts in the castle.

"She's a _Snape_, isn't she? I mean…she _is_ her father's daughter. What does that say about her personality; huh? Says she's…well, you know." Scorpius said. Albus turned his head to look at his friend.

"No, I don't think I do know." Albus replied.

"Her father's an absolute bastard, I mean, what he did to _your_ dad was just bloody proof, wasn't it? And then you two not speaking for the longest bleeding time…well, I think it's evident that you're not going to be able to speak your mind in front of her. She's just going to yell at you until you see things or say things her way or whatever." he said. Albus's features took on a very disappointed expression.

Albus's eyes narrowed "Weren't _you _the one who got us back together?" Albus questioned.

"A bloke's allowed to change his mind; isn't he?" Scorpius shot back.

Albus sighed and hanged the subject quickly, "So that's really why you don't want us to go out Scorpius? Or is it cos you just don't like her?" he asked sharply. Scorpius sat bolt upright.

"Date who you please," he said, ice hanging from every word. "Only don't ask me to bloody like her." Albus turned slowly back to the parchment, and tried to ignore his friend.

"I'm not in the habit of liking scummy brats like her." Scorpius muttered. Albus stood, sending ink and quill flying.

"_What_ did you just call her?" he growled. Scorpius did not rise.

"What she is." He replied nonchalantly.

"No wonder," Albus said in a low and deadly voice. "My father and your father never got on. You're just like him, aren't you? _Just_ like your ickle father –"

"You want to _repeat_ that, Potter!?" Scorpius shouted, leaping from the couch and knocking the coffee table askew. For a moment, the two stared at each other in anger. Finally, Scorpius turned away.

"I'm going to breakfast. See you 'round." He growled. He pushed past Albus angrily, just as Rosalind came down the stairwell leading to the girl's dormitory.

"Albus, I heard shouting…who –"

"No one important." Albus replied. Rosalind's lips clamped shut, but after a moment of being silent, she thought it'd be appropriate to speak again.

"Are you two having a row or something?" she asked quietly.

"No." Albus replied sharply. Rosalind winced.

"Are you sure –"

"Yes." He replied. She looked at him for a moment, and tentatively spoke again.

"See…see you in History of Magic then, shall I?" she said quietly. Albus gave a tiny nod, and allowed her to walk up the stairs alone, troubled and upset.

…

Severus Snape picked at a piece of toast at his morning's breakfast. He had, as per usual, conjured toast and butter and coffee for his breakfast, and was eating it alone in his office when his daughter walked in. She sat down across from him, and crossed her arms. He stared at her. They had only begun talking again about four days ago, when Rosalind had found it appropriate to stop hating him. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"And who are we stewing in anger at today, Rosalind?" he asked. She sighed, and allowed her arms to drop.

"No one. I was just wondering something. Did Albus' dad and Scorpious' dad…get along?" Snape snorted, causing his daughter to look up in a kind of alarm.

"_Get along_? It was all anyone could do to keep them from ripping each other's throats out." He said. Rosalind's heart sank.

"Are you sure? I mean, are you sure there wasn't some speck of civil feeling between them?" she asked, grasping at straws. He took another bite of toast.

"Quite sure." He replied. Rosalind sighed deeply, and stood up to walk over to her father. She then sat promptly on his lap, and buried her face in his chest. He was quite unprepared for this, and as a result, sent the desk flying along with the toast, butter, and coffee. He shouted something incoherent, and craned away from his daughter's touch, but her arms were wound around his chest too tightly, and her head pressed into his chest too far for him to shake her loose.

"_Rosalind_! For _God's_ sake, stop being so theatrical!" he cried.

"_Can you be fatherly for a moment_!?" she shrieked, hugging him as close as she possibly could. For a moment, he stayed awkwardly trying to pry his daughter away from him. After a moment of this, however, he gingerly returned her embrace. Eventually, she let go, and wiped her moist eyes on his shoulder. He swallowed a shudder, not wanting to think about what kind of germs were thriving on his shoulder then.

"Alright then, get up, get up. I think you have a History of Magic lesson to get to." He said softly. She nodded, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Thanks dad." She said quietly. He didn't correct her.

…

Once Snape was alone again, he walked to a small shelf, and looked at the pictures set there. There was one that stood propped closest to the forefront; a picture of himself with a baby reposing in his arms. He looked utterly confused, and was standing at the front door of his home. He remembered that day well, the day he had found his daughter screaming on his doorstep.

He didn't know her real name, her birthday, or anything about her other than what was specified in a 4 line note that was left tucked in the blanket she was wrapped in.

_Severus,_

_Knew you could take care of her for me, probably a better parent than I'd be anyway. Will return for her when need presents itself._

_Fondest regards._

It was unsigned, and only folded once. He picked up the screeching, writhing child, and held her as though she was some kind of specimen in a jar, looking between her and the note, praying that the signature would reveal itself. It never did. He had no idea what to do, trying to keep a squirmy, screechy baby girl in his arms, while still trying to sort out in his mind who exactly had given her to him. He could do nothing but keep the girl.

He raised her, although she had morphed into a strange and quiet child. When she received her letter to Hogwarts, Snape was hardly surprised.

"You're a witch, Rosalind. Congratulations." He had said drily, to a very confused eleven year old standing in a faded and weary kitchen.

"But…what does that mean?" she asked.

"It means that you'll learn to do this," he drew his wand and waved it at the table. It floated in the air, flipped over several times, and then landed again without a thunk. "When you get to school." She watched in awe.

"Oh…oh…" she was unable to say any more.

"You'll learn other things too. Like charms, and transfiguration –"

"And potions?" she piped. He would normally say something about her cutting him off, but he only smiled down at her.

"Yes. And potions." He said. She smiled brightly at him. The day the train left came as tough only a millisecond had passed. It was almost comical to watch the two of them walk to the station together; he a tall, sweeping figure of a man, and she a knobby, bony girl, desperate to keep herself and her huge trunk upright. When they finally got to a suitable car, they stopped.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me to the castle? You might fancy it better than the train –"

"No," she said simply. "It's alright dad. I want to go the proper way, like the rest of the kids do." Her father stared at her for a moment before continuing.

"Alright, if you're sure." He said quietly.

"Perfectly sure dad. You act as though I could get killed here or something!" Snape laughed quietly, and before his daughter could ask him why, he had shooed her on the train with a dry peck to her forehead.

"I'll see you at your first potions class." He called as the train began to pull away.

"Alright dad! Love you!" she shouted. The train whistle blew.

"Good luck!" he shouted back. It blew once more, and Snape suddenly realised how silly he must look, running down the platform with full robes billowing behind him. He stopped, and looked around at the witches and wizards giggling at him. He glared at them, and drew his cloak closer around his neck. It was an oddly cool September day, as though the very weather was instilled with a sense of foreboding…

A quiet voice snapped Snape out of his memories.

"Professor," said Rose Weasley. "We're um…our class is waiting for you." He looked her over for a moment, and nodded.

"Thank you Miss Weasley." He said. Rose nodded, and left the room in a blur of red hair. He sighed, and looked again at the photograph. A squirming baby girl, and a very confused looking man stood there, staring. He tucked it away with the other photographs again, and walked off to the class he had to teach. _Sentimental old fool…_

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**A/N: Hey guys, it's Bronnie. So sorry that this chapter was short and that not a lot happened in it. But I found that Joanna would probably be better at writing the fluffy date bit. And I was asked for Rosalind's origin. So there it is, hope everyone enjoyed. See ya in a bit!**

**I know! I was shocked when I saw she included an A/N too! Finally the mysterious Bronneh shows herself. Anyway! Hope you liked it! I shall be back soon with Chapter 6 ASAP. And the fluff shall continue! So beware for teeth rotting goodness. **

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** **JKR owns it all.**

**(If fanfiction sends you guys another alert on chapter 6 I'm sorry. There's nothing new I just cleaned it up a bit. It had a lot of typos that I had to fix)**

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Chapter 6:

Rosalind sighed as she looked down at either ends of the table. Scorpius was stewing quietly on one end of the Slytherin table while Al sat looking thoughtful at the other end. She didn't know what to do with them. Al still hadn't told her exactly what happened but it wasn't good. It was Saturday, they hadn't talked since Monday. Celia laughed at her.

"If you keep turning your head like that you'll get whiplash." she said, her light green eyes sparkling in amusement.

Rosalind threw a small look of annoyance at her friend and said "I'm just worried. How am I supposed to enjoy my day with him when I know something's bothering him?"

"I know what you mean but you just have let them sort it out. They'll get over whatever they're fighting over soon enough."

Rosalind just nodded and looked back to Al. She turned around when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. When she turned she saw Rose Weasley standing there awkwardly, fiddling with the stray fibers on her Ravenclaw sweater.

"Hi." Rose said, somewhat shakily. "You don't know me very well but I'm Rose, Scorpius' girlfriend."

Rosalind nodded, not exactly knowing what to say.

"I know we're not exactly friends," Rose continued "but I was hoping we could talk for a minute."

Rosalind looked at the nervous girl before her and said "Sure" as she scooted down on the bench to leave room for her.

Rose slid in and began "Do you know what happened between Scorpius and Al?"

Rosalind shook her head and said "No clue. I tried talking to Al and he wouldn't tell me anything. "

Rose sighed and said "I was hoping he would've talked to you about it. He won't say a thing to me about it to me and neither will Scorpius. I'm worried about them."

"Sorry." Rosalind said simply. "I'm worried too." she added.

Rose nodded and said "I love 'em both, you know?" She glanced over at Scorpius and sighed. "Well, I guess they'll work it out it due time." She gave Rose a small smile and said "You make him happy. I know you guys have only gone out a few times but I've never seen him happier. You know, he was always kind of out of place. He was always a very quiet, intelligent mild tempered boy. Not into pranks like his brothers, James and Ted, and not into quidditch like my entire family. The only people he was ever really close to were me and his father. And then he was sorted into Slytherin, which just made him even more different. It's not like he doesn't love his family or that we don't love him. We love him; our family just doesn't understand him."

Rosalind nodded and frowned. She had heard some of this from Albus already and the rest she had pieced together on her own after meeting most of Al's family just by hanging out with him. She didn't even believe James and Al were brothers the first time she met him. The only thing that kept her doubts at bay was their family resemblance, both of them bearing their father's untidy black hair and Weasley freckles.

"And it was great when he made friends with Scorpius. He was really having a hard time dealing with his brother's reaction to him being in Slytherin. But I don't know. After he met you…" she shrugged and gave her a small smile "You're good for him."

Rosalind blushed a bit as she searched for something to say in response to that. Rose laughed and said "Don't worry about it. I know. I'll see if I can talk to Scorpius about what's up today. It was good talking to you today."

And with that she got up and walked over to Scorpius who she threw her arms around from behind and gave a big kiss on the cheek. As she held him tightly to her chest, Scorpius gave her a huge, genuine smile and leaned in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. Rosalind sighed, they were so cute. She'd been having so much fun with Al these past few weeks. She'd been on three dates with him and nothing more than hand holding.

Her thoughts were cut off as Al's voice cut through her thoughts, loud a clear. "Rosalind?"

She snapped out of her reverie and said "Oh! Sorry!"

He laughed and said "It's okay. You just looked out of it. You ready to go?" he said with a smile as she extended his hand towards her. She returned his smile and slid her hand into his.

"Let's go."

…

Rosalind's day so far had been pretty good. Her father was getting less obvious with his disapproval of her relationship with Al. Instead of making a snide comment when he saw them pass him on their way out, hands joined, he just looked from their hands to their faces and gave him an annoyed glance before sending them off. He'd come around eventually. Hopefully.

It was a chilly early December afternoon and Rosalind's gloved hand was toasty warm, lying inside of Al's. She heard the snow crunch under their boots as they walked through Hogsmeade after enjoying some butter beer at The Three Broomsticks.

Rosalind sighed a content sigh and said "The snow's so pretty. I can't believe it snowed so early this year. Winter's my favorite season."

Al smiled at her and said "I was always more of an autumn person. When all the leaves would fall off the trees in front of my house Rose and I would get into these huge fights, throwing leaves at one another. He laughed as he recalled the memory. "I swear I'd never seen Uncle Ron so mad. He had spent all afternoon with my father sweeping them up. My dad just laughed and joined in our fight." A fond smile was spread across his face.

Rosalind returned his smile and said "You're really close with your dad, huh?"

Al shook his head and said "Yes. He's the only one in my family who doesn't think I'm weird and different. It's nice to have someone think you're perfectly fine just the way you are."

Rosalind continued to smile as she squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Well," she said lightly "Fall may have leaves to fight with but winter has snow." And before Al knew what was happening Rosalind had flung a giant snowball right at his face. By the time he recovered from the shock of being pelted with a giant ball of freezing wetness Rosalind was already running away laughing and yelling "Catch me if you can!"

Al laughed and charged after her dodging whatever snowballs he could while trying to throw some back at her. What Rosalind didn't notice between her giggles and snowball throwing was the giant frozen puddle in front of her. Her foot hit the ice and she slipped backwards. Her back hit the hard ice and a shot of pain went through her as the breath was knocked out of her. Al skidded to a halt next to her and fell to his knees. He lifted her up a bit and held her head in his hands as his eyes frantically searched her. "Are you okay?"

She winced and rubbed the back of her head "Yea, yea I'm okay. My head hurts a bit and I'm covered in snow, but nothing life threatening."

Al's concerned look didn't leave his face as he leaned up and kissed the crown of her head. He sighed and started brushing the snow out of her hair. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked. "If you keep up this klutzy streak you may just give me a heart attack before the year is through."

She smiled and said "Well next time you just have to be there to catch me before I fall."

He stopped brushing the snow out of her hair and just looked at her, a new expression occupying his eyes. "Yes. I think I might just have to."

They stared at each other for a few moments; their faces slowly getting closer. Rosalind felt a streak of melted snow fall down her face and slowly slide over her lips. The next thing she felt was Albus' lips on hers. It wasn't passionate or deep. It was simple, a bit awkward and short. But it was perfect.

…

They didn't get back to the castle until late into the evening. They just made it in before curfew. They left each other at the bottom of the stairs to the dormitories laughing in between kissing each other's frostbitten lips. They looked like love drunk fools, but they did not care.

They whispered goodbyes to one another, not wanting to wake any of the other's in the dorm. Rosalind ran clumsily up the stairs to where she knew Celia was waiting to see how everything went while Al watched her with a crooked grin on his face. He slowly walked up the stairs to his room, hoping Scorpius had already gone to bed. He did not want to get into yet another argument. But, alas, when he entered the room Scorpius was sitting on his bed glaring a hole into the wall in front of him.

Al tried to ignore him as he threw his jacket and gloves into his trunk and grabbed some pajamas to change into. But before he could make it to the door he was stopped by Scorpius' voice "How was your date with Snape?" he hissed.

"Spectacular, thanks." He threw his biting response over his shoulder before starting towards the bathroom again.

"I warned you!" Scorpius yelled. "I knew when I saw you come back from your last date with her you were too far gone. When she proves to be no better than her old man I won't be there to pick up the pieces!"

"SHE IS NOT HER FATHER!" Albus yelled, his frustration finally bubbling over. He made a sharp turn to face the shocked blonde boy. Never in his six years of friendship with Albus Severus Potter had he ever heard him raise his voice.

"If anyone is a perfect example of how a child can be the complete opposite of their father it is you and I so I don't get what your problem is. _She makes me happy. _You're my best friend! Shouldn't that be enough for you?"

Scorpius' face fell at Albus' words. At his lack of reaction Al turned back towards the bathroom and slammed the door behind him as he entered. He took off his clothes and redressed rather violently, venting his emotions on the poor defenseless pieces of cloth.

When he opened the door again he was slightly less frustrated. He walked over to his bed and got over the covers. As soon as he closed his eyes he heard it.

"I'm sorry."

Albus slowly sat back up and looked towards Scorpius. "What did you just say?"

"I'm sorry." He said, his light blue eyes lifting up from the floor to look at Al. "I…I just assumed that she'd be her father all over again. That she'd disappoint you. At first it was okay for you to like her, but I know you Al. You're falling for her. I just didn't want her to hurt you. But you're right. People aren't their parents."

Al sighed and his glare softened into a look of understanding. "You can be a right git you know."

Scorpius laughed and said "Can't completely erase the crap genes, now can I?"

They both laughed and they knew all was forgiven. "I appreciate the worry, but it's working out well with me and her. If you just got to know her…"

"Don't rush me Al." Scorpius said with a smile before laying his head on the pillow and closing his eyes.

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**Hey** **guys! Hoped you enjoyed the chapter! The angst is coming soon so enjoy the fluff while you can! :)**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**~Kyo's Querida & Indiana13**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Here's Bronnie's chapter. I liked it a lot and I hope you do too. Lots of plot development here so enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's**

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Chapter 7:

Nocturn Alley buzzed with life at one in the morning. Hooded figures bustling hither and thither were not strange sights to this alley. A young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, stood at the window of Borgin and Burke's, trying to wipe the grime away to see in it. Many people stopped by, trying to talk to him. He brushed them away with a dismissive snarl. Finally, the figure of Borgin came out of the shop.

"Mr. Lestrange, I presume." He said tiredly. The young man nodded.

"Have you got it?" he asked. Borgin looked back and forth, and finally beckoned the boy into his shop.

"I've got part of it. The rest, I'm afraid, you'll have to wait a little bit longer for." Borgin replied. Cygnus Lestrange walked into the dim light of the room, and pulled his cloak off altogether. He was about six feet tall, and had a face that was similar to that of his mother's, though he had his father's bearish figure and brown curls. He had his mother's black eyes and pixie like face. He was a very strange mixture of his mother and his father, one that people were often unsettled with.

"Here it is." He produced half of a wand wrapped in black velvet. Cygnus picked it up, and examined it through narrowed eyes.

"Where'd the other half go, Borgin?" he growled. Borgin winced.

"I think it was broken when I sent someone to fetch it. But I can't be entirely sure. At any rate, the other half is still in the tomb where it was left." He said. Cygnus examined the half-wand.

"And you're sure it doesn't have any of the power it had when Dumbledore used it?" he asked. Borgin nodded apologetically.

"Unfortunately, due to certain problems with previous owners, this wand has no more power than your own wand." He said. Cygnus scrutinized the half wand, and finally put it in the pocket of his robe.

"Have to do for now, I suppose, until I can get the other half." He said. "When can you get it for me?" Borgin shrugged, and walked behind his counter. He took a filthy rag from his pocket, and began to scrub his filthier counter with it.

"I suppose, within a few months –"

"Months!" Cygnus shouted. Borgin cowered behind his counter.

"I…_yes_…unfortunately, there's no way to get back to the tomb until I can find someone else to help me with this. I can't go in myself…there are special enchantments on the whole tomb that bars certain people, including me, from going in." Borgin stammered. Cygnus stared at him for a moment, and finally turned back around.

"You better bloody find it soon Borgin," he spat. "What I have to do can't wait." Borgin nodded, and kept nodding like a madman until Cygnus left the store.

…

The rest of the year flew by. It was a relatively quiet school year; not one forbidden corridor walked, one hidden chamber opened, not even a dangerous prisoner broken out of Azkaban or a hippogriff illegally smuggled off of the grounds. All seemed to be right with the world. As Professor Snape walked the halls one spring night, (it was his night to patrol hallways and give adequate punishments to those found roaming after hours) he mused on this fact. He had almost missed the shenanigans, the adventure that Harry, Ron, and Hermione brought to the school. Not to say that he missed _them_ at all. But he hated the monotony that their absence seemed to invite.

He was so angry at this last thought that he whipped out his wand, as though he would draw it on someone. Since there was no one around, however, he muttered '_Lumos_' in a rather upset voice, and cast a ball of light at the end of the corridor. The tapestry that hung at the end of the hall was a huge, thick one. If he recalled properly, from his days as a student, it hid a secret passage way, one that slipped down to the Slytherin dormitories. He walked up to it, and was disturbed by a peculiar sound that he could hear from behind it. Before he could investigate it himself, two people fell out from behind the tapestry. Snape felt himself recoil…how he hated children and their over-affection. As he was about to reprimand them, he suddenly saw _who_ exactly it was.

Snape took a deep breath in through his nose, loud enough to be heard by the pair on the floor. Rosalind's eyes grew to the size of saucepans, and she slowly pulled herself away from Albus to look at the stunned, gaunt man behind them.

"F-father –" she stammered as she struggled to button the top few buttons of her shirt and smooth her rumpled hair and skirt.

"My office. Now." He said simply. When she made a move to protest, he gave her a look that made Albus stand up straight and dust himself off.

"Potter, you have detention with Filch. Please see him now. Rosalind, you have detention with me. Go to my office right away." He said coldly . Albus gave Rosalind one last look, and took off on the opposite corridor, not wanting to incur any more of her father's wrath.

…

"Why were you out of bed, Rosalind?" he asked as his daughter scrubbed the tables in the potions dungeon that night.

"You saw, didn't you?" she muttered. Her father couldn't have heard her of course, but as she looked up, she encountered such a glare on her face that she actually cringed in fear upon the floor.

"You are never to do…_that_ in my presence again. _Never_, do you understand?" he said in a deadly voice. His daughter did not look up.

"Yes sir. Of course sir." She growled angrily.

"Don't be clever." He snapped. She shrugged, and shook her head, scrubbing harder than ever at the floor. Envisioning, perhaps, her father's face in the cobbles…

…

Cygnus sat in the back of the Hog's Head, now a far more bustling pub than it had been about thirty years ago. His beer frothed in front of him, untouched. He wasn't thirsty, and wasn't really hungry either, although he had just ordered a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese from the waitress.

Finally, a waifish, scarred girl joined him at his table, her black cloak barely concealing Slytherin robes.

"Is it really safe to be wearing those around here?" he asked softly. Another pair of people approached the table; one, a tall, dark boy who could've been out of Hogwarts already, and another girl, who was very small and weedy looking.

"Danielle Parkinson and John Zabini?" Cygnus asked blandly. The two nodded.

"I am Cygnus Betelgeuse Lestrange, and this is Rhea Greyback." He said, placidly gesturing to himself and the girl who sat across from him. The other two nodded to her, and after a moment, awkwardly seated themselves beside Cygnus and Rhea. Danielle looked simply tickled when she found herself sitting beside Cygnus.

"Please forgive me," Cygnus said after taking a half-hearted sip of beer. "I haven't told you why you're here. I presume you all know of the famous Harry Potter." A shadow of discontent passed over all four of their faces.

"Rhea and I have come up with a plan concerning the _fate_ of Mr. Potter," Cygnus said, leaning forward. The other three leaned toward him, especially Danielle. "But we've decided that it's impossible to do alone. Will you two help us?" He looked from face to face, waiting for an answer. Zabini, strangely, was the first one to speak.

"I'll do it." He said simply. All attention shifted to Danielle. After a moment of nervously looking from him, to the door, to her nails and back, Danielle nodded.

"Yes…I'll help as well." She said. Cygnus nodded, and retrieved a shining silver knife from his robe pocket.

"This is a pact signed with blood," he said. "Anyone who fails to deliver on their part of the plan will immediately die a horrible, painful death." He cut his palm, and passed the knife to Rhea, who did the same. Zabini and Danielle followed suit, and the four of them pressed their palms together as Cygnus muttered a spell of binding. The horrible burning sensation lasted only a few seconds. When they took their hands away, the deep gashes in their palms had been scarred over with black flesh.

"This shall be the new mark," Cygnus said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "The new mark of magic so deep and dark, not even death can conquer it."

…

"Albus. Severus. Potter! said a voice that made Albus wince. He looked across the table at Scorpious, who grimaced at him.

"Better turn 'round, mate." He said quietly. Albus turned very slowly to see the face of an extremely upset Rosalind getting closer and closer.

"W-why _hello_ Roz –"

"_Don't bloody 'hello Roz' me!_" she shrilled. Albus cringed.

"I'm… I'm awfully sorry about last night Rosalind." He said. She sat down in a huff.

"You _ought_ to be! Didn't you say that you cast _mufflaito_?" she said.

"To be honest," he said with a smirk. "I wasn't really thinking about casting _mufflaito_."

"Oh _god_!" Scorpious cried. Albus kicked him under the table, simultaneously taking Rosalind's hands in his own.

"What'd your dad say?" he asked.

"He wasn't exactly _pleased_," Rosalind said grimly. "But I expect he'll survive. I mean, he can't stop us from seeing each other. He even sort of gave it his blessing…I mean, in his way."

"What'd he say," Scorpious asked nastily. "As long as you never touch him, talk to him, or even _look_ at him in my presence, it'll be alright –" before he could say more, he was silenced once again by a well-placed kick to the shin from Albus. He shouted something inarticulate in protest, but received only a smirk from his friend.

"Well, that's alright. I was just worried he forbade it or something." He said. Rosalind shook her head, and felt her anger melt away. She just could not stay angry at Albus, no matter how hard she tried. He extended her arms, and gave her a small smile of apology as she fell forward, catching his lips with her own. Scorpious made a gagging noise.

As the three chatted a Slytherin girl walked by, throwing them an ugly smirk. They walked away quietly, drawing Rosalind's attention.

"Albus, who's that? I don't think I've ever seen her before." Albus looked over his shoulder, and he grimaced.

"It's not as though anyone likes her. Rhea Greyback." He said. Rosalind thought about the name for a moment…it sounded vaugely familiar. Suddenly, her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Oh…her dad was –"

"Yeah. That's why we don't talk to her." He said quietly. Rosalind nodded, and looked back to Scorpious, who seemed as eager as she was to change the subject.

**

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**

**A/N: Hey all. Bronnie again. Oh gosh, I'm in love with Cygnus. :D**

**For some odd reason I agree with her and it slightly worries me. Well, I'm sorry to announce that this (and then the next chapter) are going to be the last of the fluffy chapters. It makes me want to cry. Sigh! But this is a Romance/_Angst _fanficso we must include some angst sometime. Ah well, que sera sera. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and yes Cygnus and Rhea are totally a couple. So maybe there'll be some fluff there, I don't know. That question would better be directed towards Bronnie since she created them all. **

**So hope you enjoyed it and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, here's chapter 8. I feel it necessary to warn you that it's pure teeth rotting fluff. I even thought about deleting parts of it because of it. I know my co-author nearly died when she read it but then again she's the angst writer, I'm not. Plus I really wanted to get in as much fluff as I could for Rosalind and Al because after this chapter they won't be getting much of it since this story is basically going to become a purely angst based story.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns all Harry Potter characters and Shakespeare owns everything having to do with 'As You Like It'.**

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Chapter 8:

It was as though time had grown wings in the lives of Albus and Rosalind. The spring came and went and soon the students of Hogwarts were packing their trunks excitedly for their summer vacation. Al and Rosalind were upset at having to be separated but thanks to Al having passed his Apparation test it made things a bit easier. He hadn't told any of his family about his relationship with Rosalind and his sister Lily surprisingly kept his secret. When he asked her why she just shrugged and said "It's your secret to tell and she makes you happy. Why would I want to ruin that for you?"

The summer went by in a haze of long outings all over England, expertly crafted stories about where he was going on Albus' part, annoyed glances from her father as Rosalind skipped out of the house to the outstretched arms of her boyfriend and many a summer night sitting in the big tree outside Rosalind's window staring at the stars.

It was late on August 31. Al and Rosalind were sitting in the large willow tree outside her window. His back was against the trunk of the tree, while her back was against his chest. A warm breeze rustled the leaves that caressed their legs which were dangling over the branch. Al had one arm wrapped tightly around Rosalind's waist and his other hand was running through her hair. His fingers twirled the ends of her hair around his fingers and he whispered "It's gotten long."

Rosalind chuckled and said "Yea, I know. Celia's going to kill me for not cutting it again."

He gave her a small smile and said "I like it like this."

She returned his smile and turned her head to give him a small kiss. When they parted she returned her head to its place on his shoulder and sighed "I can't believe we go back to school tomorrow."

She felt him nod as he said "I know. It feels like just yesterday that we going out on our first date."

Rosalind gave a loud laugh at that and said "What a disaster."

Al gave her a smile and "Yes. But it all worked out in the end anyway."

She nodded and said "Yes it did." She patted his hands which were entwined and resting on her stomach. "But if you want it to keep working out you better get home. Dad will be in to check on me and I rather not find us here when you supposedly dropped me off two hours ago. "

Al laughed and said "That would not be pretty." As he helped Rosalind back into her room through her window. Rosalind ruffled her pajamas and hair and did a twirl. "Do I look like I've been in a deep sleep for hours?" she whispered.

Al just smiled at her and said "You're a regular sleeping beauty."

She went over to his spot on her windowsill and gave him a kiss. "Well good night then, Prince Charming. You've got to get going before you're caught." She leaned in for one last kiss and when she turned away she expected to hear the familiar crack of apparation. Instead she heard Al whisper three words that made her heart stop.

"I love you."

Rosalind's hand flew over her mouth as her mind reeled. Scared by her lack of reaction Al said "Sorry. I know this isn't exactly a romantic candlelight dinner but it felt right. I mean I really do…love you that is and once school starts I kne-"

He was cut off by Rosalind's lips colliding with his in one of the most passionate kisses she had ever given him. When she relinquished her hold on his face she said "I love you too."

His smile was so big that nearly blinded her. She had never been so happy. She was about to lean in for another kiss when she heard the floor board creek down the hall. "I'll see you tomorrow. Go!" she whispered hurriedly as she threw herself into bed. She was pretty sure that between the loud crack of apparation and the goofy smile she still wore when her father finally cracked open the door he knew what had happened. But she really didn't care at the moment.

…

The next morning Rosalind kissed her dad on the cheek and said "See you tonight."

He nodded and watched her go in search of Albus. When she found him he excitedly explained that his father had caught him coming in last night and had ended up giving them his blessing.

"I told him I loved you and he said that's all he needed to know." he had told her. And when she looked over at his family she saw his mother talking to his sister and his father looking at them with a small happy smile. He waved at them and Rosalind knew that maybe, just maybe their relationship could work.

The first two months of school went by quickly. Although Al had a lot of free periods as a seventh year, Rosalind had done extremely well on her O. and had a full course schedule. But no matter how hectic her schedule Rosalind couldn't forget what today was. One year ago today she and Al had gone on that first horribly chaotic date. She and Al hadn't talked about celebrating their anniversary with Al but she had gotten something for him anyway. It was okay he hadn't thought to celebrate and she had only gotten him a book he had wanted.

So when she went downstairs, present in hand, and didn't find Al in the common room or the Great Hall she began to worry. When she asked Scorpius about it he just shook his head and said "Don't worry about it." That of course, only made her worry more.

She tried to distract herself with studying and hanging out with Celia and Rose, who she had become surprisingly close with. But no matter what she did her mind would always wander to what Al was up to. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that Al made an appearance. The sun was beginning to set and most of the students had returned from Hogsmeade and were settling in for dinner. Rosalind was looking out a window in the library. She frowned as she saw the last of the students run in the front doors of the castle. She was about to give up and head to dinner when she heard his voice.

"Hey there." He said, wearing a huge smile.

"Hey mystery man. Where have you been all day?" she questioned.

He simply said "You'll find out soon enough." as he extended his hand towards her.

She raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

She just sighed and said "Of course."

He led her down to the front door and instead of going into the Great Hall like the rest of the school was he took her outside. When they got outside he said "Close your eyes."

She complied and felt something being covered over her eyes. She touched the scarf wrapped around her head and heard him say "Just so you aren't tempted to peek."

She smiled and said "You better not let me trip."

She let him lead her through the grounds for what seemed like forever. When he stopped her, she tried to take off her blindfold, but was stopped again. Albus took her hands in his and said "When I met you five years ago and you told me your name I asked if it was from "As You Like It". So when I started to think about what to give you for our anniversary the answer seemed obvious." And with that he took the blindfold from her eyes and revealed why he had been missing all day. As the blindfold fell off he said "Happy Anniversary". Rosalind's jaw hit the floor.

They were in a deserted part of the grounds; it was kept from view by a whole bunch o f trees around them. There was what seemed like hundreds of candles floating around the grove. There was a huge oak tree in the center of the grove and at its base was a huge blanket with pillows and a whole bunch of food on it. But the most impressive part of this was the oak tree itself. On the trunk ROSALIND had been painted on in light blue paint and hundreds of pieces of beautiful stationary were tied onto the tree with pieces of blue silk ribbon. Even from where she was standing she could see that the writing on the papers was a beautiful calligraphy. Rosalind gaped as she took them in and choked out "Are those what I thi-"

"_Hang there, my verse, in witness of my love: And thou, thrice-crowned queen of night, survey with thy chaste eye, from thy pale sphere above, thy huntress' name that my full life doth sway .O Rosalind! These trees shall be my books and in their barks my thoughts I'll character; that every eye which in this forest looks shall see thy virtue witness'd everywhere. Run, run, Orlando; carve on every tree the fair, the chaste and unexpressive she." _He quoted.

Rosalind just nodded and said "Orlando. Act 3, scene 2 I believe."

Al nodded and grabbed one of the papers off the tree. "I will admit I didn't write them all, so Orlando has me beat there." he said.

He handed Rosalind the paper which he had taken and she recognized it as her favorite poem Orlando had sent Rosalind in the play written in a beautiful script.

"_From the east to western Ind,_

_No jewel is like Rosalind._

_Her worth, being mounted on the wind,_

_Through all the world bears Rosalind._

_All the pictures fairest lined_

_Are but black to Rosalind._

_Let no fair be kept in mind_

_But the fair of Rosalind."_

"Some of them are from "As You Like It", some are sonnets, some are just love poems I found, a few are my own..."he trailed off looking at the tree. He gave a nervous chuckle and said "You'll know which ones those are right away. They're not nearly as good as the others."

He looked at Rosalind again and his face fell. "If you don't like it, I understand. It's not very origin-"

Rosalind threw herself into his arms and covered his lips with hers before he continued. When they parted she said "It's perfect. I've never gotten a more thoughtful gift." She grabbed his hand and took him to the blanket. They sat on the pillows and Rosalind smiled as she said "My gift seems really stupid now."

He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said "Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it."

They spent the rest of the evening eating and talking. Every once and a while Rosalind would take some of the pieces of paper off the tree and read them. After they had eaten Al sat against the tree and held open his arms for Rosalind to fall into. When she did he wrapped his arms around her and started to play with the ends of her hair. They laid there for a long time. Curfew was approaching but they didn't care.

"I was freaking out this morning. You just disappeared."

Al smiled and said "Was it worth the worry?"

She tilted her head towards him and said "Definitely."

Her lips touched his, gently at first but slowly the kiss began to deepen as she moved her legs to straddle his waist. She felt one of his hands tangle in her hair, while the other slipped it s way under her sweater and inch towards her bra clasp. Her eyes snapped open in shock as she pulled away. There was a glazed look in Al's eyes for a moment before he snapped back into reality.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Rosalind. I didn't mean- I didn't want- I got carried away." he stuttered. Rosalind watched as he blushed and started to take his hand out from where it resided on her back. She looked at him and realized something, something rather important.

"Don't." she whispered as she reached around and stopped his hand with hers. His eyes widened with shock and a confused look took over his face "W-What?"

"Don't stop." she whispered back.

His eyes widened even farther, but this time in recognition. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and pressed her lips to his again.

…

Severus Snape was not a patient man. He had been waiting outside the Great Hall for Albus Potter for almost an hour now. It was a Monday morning! Where was this boy? His was tapping his foot on the floor and gave a harsh sigh. He looked into the Great Hall and saw that Rosalind was also missing. They were probably mooning over one another in the common room. He turned back around, intent on going down to the dormitories and finding the boy himself. When he spotted him walk into the castle through front doors, holding his daughter's hand tightly and smiling like a buffoon. But what bothered him the most was the fact that their hair was messed up; their clothes dirty and their clothes were the same they had been wearing the day before. He looked at the bag Al had slung over his shoulder. A blanket was peeking out of it.

Severus Snape was not a patient man. He was not stupid either.

He saw red. The only thing keeping him from murdering the boy before him in the most painful way possible was the news he knew he had to tell him. When he thought of what he had to tell him a sinking feeling of disappointment overtook him and his urge to murder him left him. A little.

He saw them moving towards the stairs down to the dungeons and bellowed "Potter!"

He stopped and Snape saw the terror fill the eyes of both his daughter and the boy. He saw Albus nod towards the stairs and tell her to go on without her. She reluctantly walked down the stairs as Albus walked over.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"Potter, come with me. I'm afraid…I'm afraid I have some bad news."

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**Well I hoped you liked it. It's fluff. It's what I'm good at. I'm very nervous about the angst to come, I hope I can write it well. . **

**Aw well, if I turn out to really suck I'll just hand the fanfic over to Bronnie. She's good at it.**

**So wish me luck! Sorry if I killed any of you with the OD amount of cuteness. See you in chapter 9.**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**

**P.S.- If you haven't read 'As You Like It' and you had no clue who Orlando was or what the whole tree thing was about go read it now! It's a great play.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So sorry for the long wait but we started school again and well we're juniors this year. Enough said. I swear if I get one more homework assignment I'll explode. **

**Anyway! I hope you like this chapter, it's Bronnie's AKA nice and angsty. Please don't murder us.**

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's.**

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Chapter 9:

That night, Cygnus lay in Rhea's bed, utterly content. She was sleeping soundlessly beside him, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. They had done it. Harry Potter was dead. Cygnus allowed one of his hands to play with the ends of Rhea's hair. He had done it in the end; no one else had the guts. Not even Rhea, though she had torn both of their throats out after they were dead. He had been the one who pointed the wand, who said "Avada Kedavra" coolly, with ease and conviction. Ginny had screamed and before the green jet of light hit her husbandd, she had thrown herself in its way and was dead before she hit the ground. Harry gave an inhuman scream of rage, and rushed at Cygnus. Then he said it again with as much deathly ease as before. Harry's body fell on top of Ginny's and Rhea hungrily ripped their necks out.

Rhea and Cygnus had gone back to her father's old home and Cygnus knew what would happen. He did not really mind making love to Rhea, and minded even less that evening. She really was an astoundingly pretty girl when she wanted to be, Cygnus mused. She was pretty and he was brilliant. What a good team. He chuckled and shut his eyes as he drifted off.

…

"You wanted to see me, professor?" Albus asked nervously. Snape looked at the boy and and shortly motioned him to sit. He sat quickly, fearing the potion-master's wrath.

"Potter" Snape's voice was a stilted attempt at gentility. "Potter…I'm sorry to tell you this. As much as I have a… distaste for you personally, I don't wish this kind of a thing on anyone." Albus' face was puzzled.

"Potter, your parents are dead."

…

_In all honesty, Snape was just going to yellat Harry for being such a little bastard. He had knocked self-importantly on their door in Godric's Hollow, shouting Harry's name in outrage. How dare he allow his filthy brat to continue to date _his _daughter?! How?_

"_Potter!" he cried, turning the knob. That was when he noticed that the doors were unlocked. Immediately, he felt uneasy. He walked in calling for Harry much more quietly. _

"_Potter…Weasley?" he found the inner rooms open, and they stunk, though of what, he couldn't quite place. He continued to walk through the little house, his unease increasing with every step. _

_And that's when he came upon them. The bodies of Harry and Ginny were piled on top of each other, both of their throats nonexistent. And on the wall was painted, presumably in their blood, a crude copy if the Mark on his forearm. He suddenly imagined he could feel it burn. _

…

The funeral had been short and very sad. Hagrid was the oldest one in attendance but was louder in his grief than any other. He retrieved a great spotted handkerchief from inside his coat, and blew his nose (which sounded not at all remotely like a foghorn) several times.

They were buried on the grounds of Hogwarts, as per their wishes in their will. Rosalind secretly wondered if that was a good idea. Every time he'd walk by the Forbidden Forest, he'd see his parents' graves nearby. She only hoped that he was alright.

Rosalind looked over her shoulder to see James, Lily and Teddy Lupin huddling close together as they took in the ceremony. Lily cried openly. It worried her even more when Al refused to sit with his family at the funeral.

"Al?" she said quietly, approaching him after the service. He nodded, but his eyes were glued to the coffins before him.

"Al, let's go back to the castle." A note of entreaty slipped out in her voice.

He said nothing and continued to stare.

"How could this have happened? Who could've done this?" he asked in a whisper.

"I don't know. I'm sorry… I know how much they meant to you." She replied. He nodded.

"Let's go back to the castle." Rosalind tried again. Albus allowed her to pull him about ¾ of the way, before he shrugged her away, saying he needed to be alone.

"Right," said Rosalind, hurt. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Don't count on it." Albus replied quietly. She sighed and began her walk to the Slytherin common room. '_God, please let him be okay. Please make him resilliant."_

…

Cygnus went to the grave. He smirked as he saw the headstone.

HARRY POTTER  
THE BOY WHO LIVED

BELOVED HUSBAND

AND FATHER

1980-2022

"Beaten by a boy." said Cygnus. "Beaten by a twenty five year old boy and his friends. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived" He laughed, a soft, frightening sound. If anyone had been there, they would've shuddered.

"Congratulations Harry Potter!" he spat. "Congratulations on being a failure." With that, he spat at the grave and walked off.

As he trekked he vaguely wondered where he was going. The Hog's Head he supposed, for a beer or two and a nice chat with Rhea. Maybe they'd go and walk somewhere, maybe he'd buy her a sweet at Honeydukes or they'd stay in the Hog's Head until it closed like they used to.

But Cygnus had the faint impression that nothing would be the same as before…

…

Scorpius sighed as the noise below the Slytherin dormitories had gotten louder. They were fighting again, this time about Rosalind 'flirting with Teddy Lupin'. Scorpius rolled over in the four poster and closed his eyes, trying to block out the shouted arguments from the common room.

"You think I wouldn't notice you throwing yourself-"

"For God's sake, we were having a chat-"

"SLUT!"

The room suddenly went very quiet and Rosalind said something very quietly.

"Slut!" Albus shouted. Scorpius cringed. _Bloody fool. _Rosalind's voice got a little louder.

"Mumblemumble, Al. Take it back you mumblemumble!" she said. His friend gave a high, cold laugh.

"You must think I'm some kind of idiot Rosalind! You think I didn't see you practically _stripping _for him-"

"Mumble referring to when I took off my sweater mumblemumble mumble, bastard!" was her reply. Albus' high laugh again.

"Go ahead," he shouted as Scorpius heard Rosalind's footsteps on the stairs. "Run! Run you bitch!" Scorpius was sure he heard a sob. After about five minutes, the heavy wooden door swung open and Albus breezed in, sitting on his bed to the right of Scorpius'.

"Hey mate." He said cheerily, as though he had not just sent his girlfriend crying to her dorm.

"Al, that was really bad." Scorpius said. The frightening, high laugh issued from his friend's mouth, and he shivered. What was it about this laughter that awakened a deep sense of fear in him?

"I thought you hated her." Albus' voice was comically sarcastic.

"I do." Scorpius replied, too quickly. "I thought you loved her." Albus giggled and got under his covers.

"Night!" he said, too brightly. The lights were off before Scorpius could reply.

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**...Please don't kill us? **

**When our friend Kelsey read this chapter at lunch she rolled up the papers and hit Bronnie upside the head with it. **

**Well bad or good leave us a review and we'll update ASAP.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Welcome to chapter 10. Hope the last chapter didn't depress you too much. But to make it up to you I am actually posting this during my free at school when I could be eating lunch now. Dedication guys, dedication. Anyway Bronnie is next to me right now on cleverbot, and to distract her from cursing out the poor machine I'm going to have her drop you guys a line.**

**Hey guys! I'm writing my next chapter soon, and it'll be fraught with Cygnus and angst! So I'll be seeing y'all soon!!! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!**

***eye roll* What am I going to do with her and her angst? Well then, until next time! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all.**

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Chapter 10:

Rosalind rubbed her eyes hard the next morning as she awoke, trying to rub the stiff feeling from crying herself to sleep out of her eyes. It'd had been getting worse and worse between her and Al. Last night was the worst it's ever been. She flinched as she recalled the cold way he had called her a slut and dismissed her so easily. He was such a different person since his parent's death. It had been a little over two months and he had only gotten more distant. He didn't want help nor did he want to talk. Rosalind felt so helpless.

She moaned as she sat up and was hit with a wave of nausea. She'd been having these random bouts of nausea since right after the Potter's funeral. She assumed it was because of all the stress and grief that came with the whole situation.

She threw her hands over her face and winced as Celia threw open the curtains to her bed and said "Again?"

Rosalind sighed as she slowly lowered her hands from her face "Depends. What are you referring to?"

Celia's frown deepened and said "You're nauseous again. You should go see Madame Pomfrey."

Rosalind waved her friend off and slid out of bed slowly trying to not upset her stomach further. She wandered into the bathroom and splashed some water onto her face. She heard Celia calling after her.

"I heard you guys fighting last night."

Rosalind gave a heavy sigh as she walked out of the bathroom and laid against the doorframe. "Yea…it got pretty bad last night."

"Are you kidding me?! It was horrible!" Celia yelled as she threw a pillow at Rosalind. The pillow hit her square in the chest and Rosalind yelped in pain.

Celia rolled her eyes and said "Drama queen. It was just a pillow."

Rosalind held her chest and said "I don't know. They've been…hurting lately. I don't know why. Probably has something to do with all the weight I've gained."

Celia gave a small smile and said "You can't blame everything on the fact that you've gained a bit of weight."

"I can try." She sighed and sat next to Celia. She looked at Celia with a look of desperation "I don't know how to help him. I just want to make him happy again. I was only talking to Teddy because I wanted to know if he had any ideas to help him." With a sob she added "The more I try to help him, the more I lose him."

Celia frowned and hugged her friend tightly, trying to comfort her.

…

Scorpius continued to hurriedly pack his books as Al tried to wish him a Good Morning.

"What's your problem?" he heard Al say in the background. Scorpius gritted his teeth as he bit back all of the responses he wanted to shout back at his friend.

"I'm sorry. I try not to associate with idiots." He threw back at Al.

Al's eyes narrowed as he said "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I understand that it's been rough losing your parents and all, especially the way you did." Scorpius swiveled around to face Al, his eyes full of annoyance and anger.

"But you've been such an ass these past two months! Rosalind, as much as I dislike her, has only been trying to help you because for some odd reason she seems to like you. And all you've done is be a bastard to her. And I've stood here and watched it but last night you crossed a line. So please don't talk to me until you've stopped being such a fucking idiot."

With that he turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him as he left the room. Al just sat, dumbfounded, as he let Scorpius' words settle in. He had sat there for about ten minutes before he muttered 'Crap.' and rushed to get his bag and run down to the common room.

…

Rosalind shuffled down the stairs to the common room carefully, her stomach still not completely settled. She noticed that no one was in the common room except for Al, looking thoughtfully into the crackling fire. Rosalind frowned and tried to quietly leave the room but was stopped by hearing Al say "I've been so stupid." quietly.

Rosalind turned her head slightly towards him slightly, not quite completely turning around.

"I've let my grief consume me. I basically told my brothers to fuck off. I've completely stopped talking to my sister. I've shut my best friend out of everything having to do with me. But worst of all, I've treated you like crap. All you've done is try to help me and I've been a prick in return."

Rosalind completely turned around and observed Al, who continued to look unseeingly into the fire. "I just…I don't know what to do. I have all these emotions swimming around. All this anger and pain and frustration and I don't know where to put it, so I've taken it out on people I love."

Rosalind slowly walked over towards where Al was sitting. She didn't dare make a sound, afraid that a noise would stop this epiphany she had been waiting for Al to have for weeks. She sat soundlessly down on a leg rest next to him.

He ran a hand threw his hair nervously. "I love you…so, so much." He whispered harshly his eyes reflecting a raw horrible sense of sorrow. And all I've done is treat you like dirt. I'm so sorry. I can never dream that you'll forgive me but I really don't want to lose you." He let out a very un-Albus sob before saying "Especially not after everything I've already lost."

Rosalind felt a few tears roll down her cheeks as she launched herself into Al's arms. She felt his arms wrap around her impossibly tight. She could barely breathe but she didn't dare move. She felt his continue to sob into her shoulder as he said "I'm so, so sorry." over and over again.

When he finally loosened his grip on her she brought her hand to his face and wiped away whatever was left of his tears. "We need to talk." she said quietly. "We have a lot to sort out. But I do forgive you."

He smiled and leant over to give her a chaste kiss. "Thank you." He said as he squeezed her hands reassuringly. "I'll meet you here tonight, once everyone's gone to bed. We can talk then."

Rosalind nodded and said "Tonight, then."

…

"WHAT?!" Celia yelled.

"Shhh!" Rosalind shushed her friend. "Moaning Myrtle will come if you're any louder." She said as she headed towards the bathroom stalls.

"Do you think I care right now? You just told me that the guy who's been treating you like crap for the past two months apologized! And where are you going?"

Rosalind rolled her eyes and said "The bathroom. We do happen to in a lavatory."

Celia gave a harsh annoyed sigh as she waited for her friend. After a few moments Celia heard Rosalind's shaky voice come from behind her stall door. "Cee, what day is it?"

Celia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she said "The twelfth, I think. Why?"

She heard the toilet flush and heard the door to the stall creak open. When she saw Rosalind she gasped. She was deathly white and shaking as she said. "We need to go to Madame Pomfrey…I think…I think I know why I've been sick."

…

Rosalind spent the rest of the day out by the lake, Madame Pomfrey's shocked face and harsh words still floating around in her head. She frowned as she looked at her watch. It was time to meet Al now. She had no clue how she could face him and talk about what they needed to talk about with this new, huge thing consuming her thoughts.

She slowly made her way to the common room, frowning in deep thought the whole way. When she entered the common room she saw Al pacing fiercely, a look of pure anger in his eyes. Rosalind rushed towards him and said "What's the matter?"

"They dropped the case!"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"The Auror Department dropped the case due to lack of evidence! They're just fucking giving up. If it was up to them whoever did this to my family will never be caught. That's why I'm going to do something about it."

"What do you mean?" Rosalind asked, her voice shaking. She was about to vomit from all of the emotion swirling in her chest.

"I'm going to go to the Auror department to petition the re-opening of the case. And if that doesn't work I'm investigating it myself."

"That's crazy! You can't go after them yourself."

"I have to Rosalind." He said with a firm voice. "I'm leaving tonight. My brother said he'd help me start the petition. I'll be back as soon as possible."

With that he threw his bag over his shoulder and sprinted out of the common room before Rosalind could say anything. As she watched him leave the room, not sure when he would come back she let out a sob and fell into the chair behind her. She let out another sob as she whispered. "You can't leave me. Not now."

She continued to sob before whispering. "I'm pregnant."

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**Did you enjoy that plot twist? I hope you did! I'll talk to next chapter!!**

**Thanks for reading and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So...sorry this took me so long. I was sans-wifi for about four days. Heh.... :D Anyway, enjoy!**

**Yea, yea Bronnie. Excuses excuses. It took weeks of me bugging you to even get you writing! And then Alison had to threaten to shank/strangle you to get you to send it to me. Goshies what to do with you? **

**I hope you guys like this chapter! I has Bronnie's signature angst/Cygnus loving. I'll get started on my chapter right away!**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

**Enjoy and Review!**

**

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****Chapter 11**

Cygnus sipped at a beer in the Hog's Head. The day had turned bone-cracking cold, and he admitted to himself that an icy beer had not been the smartest decision. Perhaps some hot, hard cider was more in order...

Rhea swept in, making Cygnus jump. She had noticed a slow change in him. His hair was graying prematurely, and it never seemed that he slept, nor did he ever sleep with her. His face had become drawn, and he lost a good deal of weight. Rhea worried, but didn't say anything. She knew if she did, he'd rage at her, throw a bottle in her direction, and storm out.

"Cygnus?" she asked brightly. He looked up at her with eyes so huge and hollow and dead that she almost sobbed with grief.

"Sit down." he said quietly. She sat, called the bar tender over, and asked for a pair of hot ciders.

"The Auror's Office has completely dropped Harry Potter's murder. We're virtually home free-"

"Rhea," Cygnus said. She looked up, doe-eyed. "Rhea, this isn't enough. Harry Potter's death isn't enough. I need more." The emptiness in his eyes changed to a kind of hunger, witch frightened Rhea immensely.

"Like...what?" she asked. He took another sip of beer.

"I want the Ministry. I want it all." he growled. Rhea's eyes grew to the size of saucepans, and her mouth flapped a bit.

"But Cygnus, that's-"

"I don't want to hear it Rhea. You made a pact with me, and I'm going to make sure that you stick to it. I've invited Zabini and Parkinson here as well. We're all going to take the oath again." he said. She gulped, and nodded.

"Alright." this was not alright at all, and for the first time since she had seen Harry Potter drop dead, she felt a shiver of true fear run up her spine. She could've thrown up in that moment, but decided to hold it back to save herself a bit of face.

There was a moment where the two s tared at each other, one not understanding the other in the way that they used to. He could read the fear in her eyes, but shifted his gaze to the other pair that had come into the bar. He flagged them over, abandoning his beer at last, and standing.

"Hey Cyg," Zabini said laughingly. "We got you something. A little item of memorabilia from your days in Hogwarts." a bundle of Ravenclaw robes thudded onto the table. He eyed them carefully as Zabini's blunt fingers yanked the Ravenclaw tie out, dangling it for all to see.

"Didn't figure you for a smart-ass Cyggie-boy." Zabini said teasingly. Cygnus glared.

"Being a Ravenclaw is nothing to be ashamed of, Zabini." he said.

"Oh yeah. That's why you're turning red. Right." Zabini replied. Cy gnus ground his teeth, and tried not to think about all of the horrible things that he could do to the stocky boy in front of him. He had to remind himself that he was better, smarter, that when the world was his, Zabini would be the first to be dead...

"And you told us that you were something special. No one who was worth anything ever came out of any house but Slyther-"

Zabini suddenly found the back of his head connecting with the opposite wall. He made a loud _ugh_ kind of sound, and crumpled into a heap on the floor.

"You know John, there was always something I didn't like about you." Cygnus said quietly.

"_Crucio_." Zabini screamed.

"You simply don't know when to leave well enough alone. _**Crucio**_." Zabini writhed on the floor, and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"C-C'mon Cyg, I was only f-foolin'. Cut us a break, y-yeah?" his voice was pleading. For a moment, they exchanged looks. Finally, Cygnus spoke with a drawling, shrugging tone that was absolutely infuriating.

"Alright. Since you begged..." his words sliced Zabini's heart.

"I suppose I will let any large, stupid animal have their freedom if they beg for it." Zabini ground his teeth, and found that, try as he might, he could not suppress the answer that came from his mouth.

"You're out of your fucking mind, man. I don't want anything to do with this." he cried. Rhea could not help but allow a tear to slip from her eye. She had disliked Zabini, but she didn't wish death on any man. And he would most certainly be dead soon.

"You swore!" Cygnus thundered. Danielle took a half-step toward the fighting boys, but Rhea yanked her back.

"If you value your life, don't go any closer." she said. Danielle made a tiny whining sound, but stepped away.

"You can bloody count me out of your plans this time mate. I don't need to do this shit anymore. I'm bloody _done_." Rhea could see Cygnus' mouth contorting into the killing curse before he'd even done anything. _Any second now,_ she thought. _Any second-_

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!!_"he screamed, and fired hexes to and fro while Danielle shrieked. Rhea picked Danielle up and crashed out of the Hogshead. The two could still hear Cygnus screeching, even at the edge of Hogsmede.

"YOU SWORE! _YOU SWORE!!_"

...

"Professor?" Madam Pomfrey crept into Professor Snape's office. The potion's master was bent over an enormous pile of papers, grading them with an odd smirk on his face.

_Oh God, _she thought. _A batch of first-years no doubt. _He looked up in surprise.

"Madam Pomfrey...? What on earth are you doing in here?" she sighed, trying to look composed.

"Professor, I've come to talk to you about your daughter." she said. Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"You do love her, yes?" Madam Pomfrey asked tentatively. This time, both eyebrows shot to his scalp.

"Madam Pomfrey, I'm not sure how-"

"If you would just answer me Professor." she said shortly.

"Very well. Yes, I love her. Why?" she took a deep breath. How could one tell the king of snarls, and sardonic sarcasm that his child was pregnant? She could not meet his eyes.

"Well Professor, there's no easy way to put this, so I shall just say it bluntly. Rosalind is...well...Rosalind is going to have a child." there was a pause when a pin's drop would've resonated.

"What?" he said, after a long moment.

"...she's pregnant, Severus." Madam Pomfrey's voice came out in a squeak.

"Yes, my hearing is fine. What the hell do you _mean_?" he shouted. Madam Pomfrey nearly flew up onto the table in fright.

"Well...I can only assume you understand how a woman _becomes_ pregnant-"

"YES, I UNDERSTAND HOW A WOMAN BECOMES PREGNANT!" he shouted, jumping from his seat. Madam Pomfrey could not suppress a shriek.

"Professor, please do not get so upset! I will allow you to speak to the girl, but not if you persist in being so angry." she said, sounding more brave than she felt.

"Excuse me? You'll ALLOW me to see my daughter?" he cried, slamming his fist onto the table.

"I am going to _find _that goddam girl and beat some sense into her-"

"Stop!" Madam Pomfrey shouted.

Snape stopped, and stared at her for a moment. "Severus, you must speak to your daughter. But under no circumstance are you to _beat_ anything into her. Sense or otherwise." Snape stared at her for a long moment, and finally turned away.

"Bring her here."

"But I-"

"_Bring her here._"

...

"Well mother? I'm here again." Cygnus said, rocking on his heels. He was standing in front of a large marble tomb. In the tomb was buried his mother, along with about ninety percent of the Black family. "Everything in my way is gone now. Rhea will help me. I won't fail you again."

The waif like form of Bellatrix Lestrange rose from the marble, and grinned at him.

"Good boy." she said. She tried to pat his shoulder, but could not (being a ghost). He shuddered, and shrugged her ghost-hand away. She gr imaced momentarily, but then replaced it with a grin as fast as she could.

"And are you sure Rhea will help you? Did you solidify her vow?" she asked shrilly. Cygnus squirmed, and did not meet her eyes.

"There's a small problem." he said. Her face fell into the mask of rage that she wore so often when she was alive.

"What?" she asked.

"Zabini. He was unfilial. I need someone to replace him. Do know of anyone?" he asked. She put her ghost-face very near that of her son's.

"What the hell happened to him?" she asked.

"I killed him." Cygnus replied in a very, _very_ small voice.

"You WHAT?!" she screamed.

"It needed to be done!" he said. "Please mother...find me someone else...please. I'll be better next time mother. Please help me." Bellatrix's eyes narrowed.

"This once boy. This once. Then I can't help you; you're on your own." she hissed. He smiled widely at her, but before he could offer his thanks, she had disappeared. After a minute of contemplation, Cygnus walked slowly from the grave, wind rustling his brown curls. He felt sick.

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**Hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a review and tell us what you thought! **

**I'll update ASAP!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Luckily I had today off for Columbus Day so I had time to work on this chapter! I hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR!**

**ENJOY!**

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Chapter 12:

Albus' fist connected with the hard wood of the bed side table. "I can't believe this!" he growled.

"How could they just refuse to continue the investigation?" James frowned and shrugged

"There's no evidence…whoever did it was really good at covering their tracks."

Albus glared and he said "Dad was the head of the Auror Department. Anyone who entered that department for the past twenty years learned from him. How can no one have any idea as to what happened?"

James just stuttered out "I-I don't know Al. Dad's had enemies since he was an infant…it could be anyone."

"Well," Al hissed "I'm not just going to sit here and let them do nothing." He jumped off the bed he had been occupying and sprinted towards his coat. James looked at his brother with a confused gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to do this myself."

He said harshly as he slipped on his coat. "Do it yourself? Al, you can only be out of school for so long. You're only seventeen."

"I'm legal, I can do whatever I what."

James' brows furrowed before saying "You can't do this Al. Dad wouldn't want you doing this."

"Dad would've wanted the men he trained to find his killer!" Al shouted.

"But they're not doing that either." Albus finished buttoning his coat and grabbed his bag.

James tried one last time. "Please Al. We can't bear to lose another family member. Lily needs you, Ted needs you, heck even I need you. We love you too much to let you go on a crazy suicide mission like this!"

"When have you ever cared about me?" Albus hissed.

"I was always your weird younger brother. I liked books and studying. I was nothing like you. And on top of it all I was a Slytherin." He spat the last word like it was a horrible, filthy word.

James gave a small laugh, as if entertained by the absurdity of his brother's words. "Just because you were different doesn't mean I didn't love you."

Al shook his head and headed towards the door. Before he walked out he turned his head and said "Don't lie to me James."

…

Snape paced furiously as he waited for Madame Pomfrey to deliver his daughter to him. _How could she be so stupid?_ He thought. He stopped as he heard the door creak open. Madame Pomfrey was steering a frightened looking Rosalind in to the office by the shoulders.

Madame Pomfrey threw him a glance that said 'be nice' as she closed the door leaving them alone. Rosalind looked from her feet to her father nervously. Her arms were folded over her abdomen protectively. Snape took her in for a moment before saying "You have something to tell me?"

She chuckled nervously before shrugging and said "I aced my Muggle Studies test?"

"What was it on?" he shot back, hoping to catch her in her lie.

"Planned parenthood." she said quickly. She gasped as she realized what she said. She squeaked and threw her hands over her mouth.

Snape's eyes narrowed into slits before saying "Rosalind your lying capabilities are disgraceful. I was a triple-agent for twenty years, and I was never caught. You simply must've inherited this trait from your biological parents."

Rosalind looked anywhere but at her father for a few moments before whispering "I was going to tell you."

"Do tell Rosalind, when were you going to tell me that you were going to bare the next Potter spawn? I am assuming he is the father."

She nodded and sniffed, trying to contain her tears.

"Do you know how embarrassing it is to have Madame Pomfrey tell me you're pregnant? When did you plan to tell me? When you were going to labor?!" he yelled.

She winced and she said "I didn't know how to tell you. Between the fact that I'm sixteen and that the baby is Albus'...I knew you'd be angry."

Snape's eyes blazed "That is an understatement if I ever heard one."

Rosalind winced again. She took a deep breath before looking her father in the eye and saying what had been on her mind ever since she had heard the news. "I'm going to keep my baby."

Snape's eyes narrowed again as he said "For such an intelligent girl you certainly do some stupid things."

There was a tense silence before Snape explained what he meant, "You didn't actually think I'd ask you to get rid of it, did you?"

Rosalind shrugged and finally gave into the tears that had been threatening to over take her days.

Snape fidgeted awkwardly as he watched his daughter sob, he was never any good in these situations. He fought through his anger and disappointment and searched his mind to say something appropriate before deciding on "I wouldn't want you to kill it just because it has a bit of Potter blood in it. Maybe between your genes and a proper upbringing, we'll be able to finally squelch that insufferable idiot trait."

Rosalind gave a small laugh through her tears and walked purposely towards father. She slid her arms around his waist. Snape sighed and awkwardly patted her on the back in return.

...

Albus apparated into the house that he technically shared ownership with his siblings over. It was dark and the wind howled around him as he marched up the drive to the previously cheerful looking house. It had been abandoned for weeks, no one daring to go inside. The iron gate creaked behind him as he turned the doorknob to the house. He hesitated before going in, afraid the memories of his childhood would swallow him whole with grief before he could get anything done. But he took a deep breath and continued inside.

The floorboards groaned in protest beneath his feet. Everything was different in the house. Although all the furniture was the same there was something eery in the house, settled in every nook in cranny, that gave the house a sense of foreboding that Albus had never felt in the house before. It had always been home, a safe place for everyone. Not anymore.

He walked throughout the whole house taking it all in. Before he could summon up the courage to enter the room that it happened in, he lingered in the living room. He took in the smiling faces blinking and laughing back at him. One caught his eye in particular. It was a picture of himself along with his mother, father and all of his siblings from last Christmas. He snatched it up and took it all in. He slipped it into his bag, knowing that if he ever lost sight of why he was doing all of this, the picture would remind him.

He slowly made his way into the kitchen. He nearly collapsed as he took it all in. The blood. It looked like they had tried to wash it away but it had remained stubbornly stuck to the wall, completely saturated into the wall. Albus choked at the faint imprint the crude Dark Mark on the wall and the other various splotches of blood they hadn't been able to clean away.

When Albus was able to control himself again he stood up and shakily walked over to the kitchen counter where he had often seen his mother trying to perfect his grandmother's apple pie recipe on, but had never quite succeeded. He gave a bitter laugh as all the memories resurfaced. He turned from the counter to the place, that judging from the particularly large blood stain that tinted the tile, was where his parents has finally fallen. He knelt down in front of the stain and took it all in, glaring at the tile almost trying to force the truth out fo the floor. His eyes roamed over the rest of the floor and stopped at the molding. There was something lodged in the molding. It was almost unrecognizable, being that it blended in with the white molding but Albus caught it.

He inched closer to the object and pulled it out. It was a particularly large canine tooth. Albus furrowed his brow wondering who this could've come from. Though he wasn't sure who it came from, he was sure that whoever it came from had been the one to murder his parents. He quickly threw the tooth into his bag and marched out of the house. When he flung the door open to the house he stopped short, shocked by what Albus thought was the scariest man he had ever set eyes on. His hands immediately grasped his wand as he took in the man.

He was absolutely huge, at least six and a half feet tall, yet somehow disgustingly emaciated; a skeleton crudely given skin. He was slightly tan with dark, wavy, short hair. He had striking features, that jutted forth from his face in a forceful way. His eyes were black as night and his face bore a jagged scar that ran down the side of his face and even over his lips. The really creepy thing about him was his casual pose. He was draped over the iron gate leading to the house, his tattered black trench coat blowing in the breeze as he spun the hilt of a blade around his finger.

When Albus drew his wand in defense, the man's mouth quirked up into an eerie smirk.

"Wh-who are you?" Albus stuttered out.

he man gracefully unfolded himself out of his bent position and said "No need for that Albus. But if you're really curious the name is Felix. I know why you're here, I know what the Auror department did with your father's case and I'm here to help you."

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**That's all she wrote folks! I'll see you in chapter 13! I hope you enjoyed! **

**By the way, I totally wrote in Felix to compete in creepiness with Cygnus, I think he is far more creepy.**

**Thanks for reading! Remember to review!**

**~Joanna**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait! This time I can't even blame Bronnie. School has been absolutely insane. Aw well, not much we can do about that. Bronnie had some stuff to say so here you go: **

**A/N: Bookworm550: We're sorry that there hasn't been much Rosalind and Albie-ness recently, but the fact of the matter is we're trying to tell a story, and it's a bit difficult to include them all the time. Please do not take this the wrong way: we do appreciate your reviews and criticism, and we'll try to incorporate more Albus and Roz in the future. Thank you for your time. We appreciate it. We are also sorry that it is so 'boring.'**

**Numba neko93: .........hush your mouth. :3**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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The air outside was cold as Rosalind trudged to Godric's Hollow, wrapped in a sweater, a coat and a scarf. She crossed her arms over her chest, freezing. She hadn't remembered a pair of gloves, nor had she worn the correct pair of boots. These were the very fashionable, but not quite so functional cloth ones that were taking in water.

She'd get sick soon, and she felt another pleasant bout of sickness rising at the back of her throat. She finally got to the door of the Hollow, and knocked a few times. James had told her that Albus was here. And she just needed to talk to him.

After a moment, a shadow of Albus opened the door. He looked as though he had lost weight, gotten paler, the circles under his eyes gotten deeper. However, as soon as he saw Rosalind, his face brightened at once.

"Rosalind!" he cried, throwing open the door. He _had_ lost weight, and his clothes were hanging off his body in a way that made tears rise to the brims of her eyes.

"Al." she whispered. His face fell into a bit of a snarl for a moment.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" he snarled. She looked up at him, and felt the girlish sobs she had worked so hard to repress come back to the surface. She ran to Albus' open arms and sobbed into his chest.

"Of course I am!" she shrieked. "Of course I am." the second time was much more hushed and calmed than the first. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

After a few moments of noisy crying, she managed to calm down, and pulled away from him. Rosalind giggled wetly, and wiped her eyes on the heel of her hand.

"Oh Al. I've been so worried, I-" She was cut off by a warm kiss bestowed by the boy in her arms. It brought back all kinds of memories of the halls in Hogwarts, all the fun they used to have...she broke away from the kiss in tears.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"N-nothing...nothing Al. I'm sorry." she said softly. "Maybe I oughtn't to have come."

"Are you _mad_?" he cried happily. "I'm so happy you're here."

She looked up at him, and blinked a bit. He wiped the tears away with his thumb, and smiled down at her.

"Why don't you put your things away upstairs?" he asked. "Then we can get properly caught up down in the kitchen. There's someone I want you to meet, by the by."

She nodded, and walked up the stairs, truly elated for the first time in weeks. Everything would be well soon. They'd be able to have a proper sit down, talk, and whether her father stood by her or not, she knew that Albus would. A little niggling thought at the back of her mind..._you hope. _She told her inner voice politely to shit its bleeding trap.

...

Felix twirled the handle between his bony, brown fingers, and watched as a strange female wandered the upper level of the Master's (Albus hated it when he called him Master, but the title somehow suited him) home. She wasn't ugly, had handsome eyes and a bearable figure. She was not a very stealthy person though...all the skipping about made her an easy target. He slunk behind her like the overgrown ferret that he was, and placed one of his large hands on her shoulder.

"And whose little girl are you?" he asked softly. Rosalind turned around, and before her scream was even fully realized, he had his hand clamped against it. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers, and she did not even feel his other hand until it was in a vise grip around her wrist.

"Don't scream. Don't you _dare_." Felix whispered.

"Mppphhh!" she wailed.

"Good. We're going to see the Master now...you go in front of me. Keep close now...and don't try anything foolish, darling." He said calmly.

"Mppphhh!" was her reply. He nodded and frog-marched her down the stairs.

"Master? We seem to have an intruder." Felix called as they reached the base of the staircase. The smell of bacon and eggs and toast was overpowering, and made

Rosalind's mouth water. She could feel Felix's stomach rumbling against her back as they made their way a bit closer.

"I told you not to call me Master, Felix. And you're being ridiculous, we don't have any-"

Albus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Rosalind in Felix's grasp. His face immediately contorted into a mask of anger and disgust that she had never seen on his face before.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"I found her upstairs," Felix replied, some of the oil dropping out of his voice. "I thought it might be best if I brought her-"

"SENCTUMSPMPRA!" he screeched. Felix was blasted back, and immediately started bleeding. He screamed, and bunched himself up on the floor, blood seeping from his body like an old sponge loses water.

"M-master-" Felix whispered. He was going to die. Any second.

"If you _ever_ touch her again," Albus screamed. "I will make sure that you never see the light of day again, you bastard!"

"Albus," she cried. "The counter curse-please! He's going to die!" Albus grimaced down at the twitching man on the floor. The smell of blood was heavy and began to make Rosalind sick. But Albus didn't care, he didn't care, this bastard was going to fucking _die_-

"Al!" she screeched.

"Fine!" he replied. Pointed his wand at him and muttered the counter curse. The blood slowly crept back to Felix's gasping form. As he slowly regained some color, Rosalind dragged Albus into the hall.

"What the _hell_ was that?" she asked.

"He was hurting you. Are you telling me that you'd rather I had let him cut your throat?" he spat. She glared at him.

"That's not the point. You almost let him bleed to death!" she said.

"Felix is fine. He'll adjust." He muttered.

"_Fuck_ that, Al." She replied drily.

"Don't bloody talk to me like that, Rosalind." there was a note of warning in his voice.

Rosalind cocked an eyebrow, but something inside her told her not to pursue the topic any further. It frightened her that he was so forceful.

"Just...just don't do it again." She said quietly. Their eyes did not meet, but the expression was clear: _what's wrong with you_?

"Why don't you go upstairs...clean up or something." He mumbled. She nodded.

"I think I ought to." She replied, looking down at her hands. After the long silence, she turned her back and walked up the stairs. As her foot touched the top stair, a thin moaning sound came from the kitchen that she had left. Albus turned to face Felix, who was just getting himself off the floor.

"Learn your lesson?" Albus grunted. Felix nodded, and scrabbled up to meet him.

"But perhaps...perhaps she doesn't belong here." He said. Albus stared at him.

"Rosalind goes where I go." He replied quickly.

"I know she does. Perhaps she shouldn't."

...

Rhea woke with a start. It was dark out still...perhaps 3 or 4 AM. Cygnus was sitting on the edge of their bed. Sitting there in the half dark, he was the same old Cygnus that she had always known. She pushed the covers off, and put a hand in between his shoulder blades, feeling him tense and look over at her.

"Didn't mean to wake you." He spat gruffly. She shook her head and moved a bit closer to him.

"It's...it's alright," she said softly. He allowed her to sit next to him and even put his hand on hers. "Cygnus...I've been thinking."

"Have you now?" came his pointed, cynical reply.

"Please don't be like this, Cygnus. Please listen to me." She said quietly. He sighed, and looked at her.

"I've been thinking too love," He said. She was about to interject when he cut her off.

"Let me finish now. Danielle tells me that Felix Bishop is coming after me. And Harry Potter's boy is with him." Even in the dark, he could see her eyes grow to the size of saucers.

"Felix Bishop? The...the-"

"Yes, the man convicted of raping, torturing, and murdering Muggles. That's him." He said quietly.

"He'll kill you." She said quietly.

"No. He'll torture me, rape you, and then kill us both. And all while laughing about it." he thundered. Rhea's eyes glossed over with a film of tears, and Cygnus sighed. He put an arm around her, the arbitrary symbol of affection.

"Calm down now. I know you're upset. But you can't afford to fool yourself and neither can I. We'll just have to keep going. Take the ministry by force _now_ while we still can." He said.

"I'm scared" Rhea replied. Cygnus patted her shoulder impatiently, wanting her to sleep again so he could be left to his own thoughts.

"Go to sleep now, dear." He said.

"Cygnus, I-"

"Go to sleep."

...

"You can't do that!" Scorpius shouted. Rose giggled as her knight decapitated his pawn violently.

"Looks like I just did." She replied. Scorpius mumbled something about reporting her to Professor Snape, but she only laughed.

"He's not my house-master. Besides, I'm not very frightened by him. After all, I'm friends with his daughter so-"

"You honestly think that any friendship of hers will save you from the Wrath of Snape?" Scorpius asked. He pointed his wand at the chess set, and muttered _reparo. _The pieces repaired themselves and flew back into place as Professor Snape swept down the hall. His face was contorted with badly hidden worry, and he stopped in front of the two of them.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley. Will the two of you please follow me to my office?" he said. They looked at each other, and then at him.

"But Professor, we didn't-" Scorpius was cut off by the glare of his professor.

"Please Mr. Malfoy, did I ask for any commentary? Follow me, or face consequences." He spat.

The two traded glances again, and got up, dashed after the professor. When they reached the Professor's office, he sat down in his chair. When they meant to sit down in the chairs across from him, he stopped them with a curt wave of his hand.

"Don't bother sitting down, this won't take long." he said. As they looked around in the dim office, they saw that Celia was there as well. Her eyes looked as though she had been crying.

"My daughter is missing. Mr. Potter is missing as well. The three of you need to find them quickly, before a fuss is made." He said curtly.

Celia sniffed, and wiped her eyes with her hand. "Will you stop driveling Celia? We are all aware you're upset."

"Professor, we don't know where they are!" Scorpius blurted.

"I'm giving you the opportunity to find them, which I trust you will do." Snape said.

"We'll do it Professor," Rose said. Scorpius' eyes darted to the girl. "We'll leave tonight."

"Make the Unbreakable Vow." He said dryly.

"Now look-" Scorpius was cut off by Rose.

"We'll do it," Rose spoke over him. "We'll make the Unbreakable Vow."

* * *

**Thanks for reading guys! Leave a review!**

**~Kyo's Querida and Indiana13**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long to post this! We've been super busy with school (colleges and SATs and first quarter report cars...bleh...) and my co-author just lost her grandmother so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. **

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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Chapter 14:

"What were you thinking?!" Celia exclaimed.

Rose threw her an annoyed glance before bluntly saying "We want Rosalind and Albus back. Snape wants Rosalind back. The only way we can get off the grounds without suspicion was to get Snape's approval. Making the Unbreakable Vow is how we got it."

"But-" she began as she struggled to keep up with Rose and Scorpius' long strides, "but if we don't bring Rose back we'll…we'll…"

"We'll die." Scorpius said forcibly. "And if my feeling about what's in store for us next means anything, you better get used to the idea of death."

Rose gave her boyfriend brief glance at Celia's scared whimper before turning back to address the girl. "We'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen then."

…

Albus tucked a lock of hair gently behind her ear. "I've missed you."

Rosalind smiled slightly, unable to truly smile due to the burden of what she knew she had to tell him weighing down on her chest. "I missed you, too" she murmured.

He gave a small smile, that was reminiscent of the smile he used to give her before this all began. But then again, it'd never be the same.

He leant forward to kiss her and she quickly covered her stomach with her arms and kept her blanket wrapped tightly around her. At her lack of response Albus pulled back with a look of confusion etched across his face. "What did I do wrong?"

Rosalind sighed with worry. She rather not have him find out like this. She paused, pulled back a bit more, and said "We need to talk."

His face was a mix of concern, confusion and fear. "Ar-are you breaking up with me?"

Rosalind sighed again, this time in frustration. "No! Not at all! It's just-" She was cut off by an insistent banging on the front door.

He stood up immediately and stalked to the door, Felix close behind him. Felix slowly drew his blade while Albus opened the door. It was flung open to reveal none other than Rose, Scorpius and Celia. Rose looked annoyed, as if the whole ordeal was an inconvenience, while Scorpius looked shocked and slightly scared by the appearance of his friend and the strange man behind him. Celia just looked extremely frightened.

Al looked between the three of them before saying "What are you doing here?" His tone was one of confusion and slight anger.

"We're here to bring Rosalind back." Rose said simply.

Albus' eyes flashed in anger. "She's staying with me."

Rose glared at Albus and said "You're different Albus and until you go back to your old self, I don't think I can really trust you to take care of her, especially in her current state."

Rosalind gasped when she heard Rose's slip up. She probably thought she had told him already.

"How dare you!" Albus exclaimed. "How dare you insinuate that I can't take care of her! I'm perfectly able to take care of her. And what do you mean her current state? She's perfectly fine, right Rosalind?"

Rosalind gaped in response, knowing that this was most definitely not the way she wanted to tell Albus that he was going to be a father. But at the same time she knew that there was only so long that she could get away with wearing oversized sweaters and pretending that she'd simply put on some weight.

Luckily Albus was on a roll and wasn't in the mood for waiting for Rosalind to answer "See!" he exclaimed "She's fine. We're both fine. We can take care of ourselves. We don't need your help."

Rose threw daggers at Rosalind for a few moments before turning back to Al. "If you don't see that there's something different about her than you really can't take care of her. Besides that, look at yourself! You look as if you haven't eaten in days! You're hanging out with Merlin only knows who." she said with a brief glance towards Felix.

"You're not fit to take care of her Albus." She reiterated. "Her father wants her back and we promised him that we'd do that."

Rose grabbed Rosalind's wrist and dragged her to her feet. Albus gave a yell of anger before raising his hand as if to hit Rose. His blown was stopped as Scorpius' hand enclosed around his fist. Rose looked betrayed while Scorpius' eyes blazed with pain, confusion and anger.

He shook his head as he whispered "What happened to my best friend?"

Albus lowered his hand, but Scorpius kept a firm grip on his fist. Green and gray eyes bore into one another.

"Nothing" Albus muttered harshly. "I'm not any different than I was when I first met you." He laughed.

Scorpius just laughed. It was cold and bitter. He gently lifted his fingers off of Albus' tightly clenched fist.

"C'mon Rosie, let's get back." Rose threw one last look at Albus before turning to Rosalind.

"We have to go. We made the Unbreakable Vow. Your dad is really worried."

Rosalind's eyes widened as she realized how serious this whole rescue mission was. She slowly nodded her head and turned to Albus. "I'll see you soon?" she said shakily.

He nodded curtly "Go." She hesitantly stepped forward and placed a kiss on his cheek before slowly following the others out the door.

...

"What were you thinking?!" Snape exclaimed. Rosalind winced.

"Going after that boy was foolish Rosalind!"

"He deserves to know he's going to be a father!" she exclaimed.

Her father looked at her with contempt before saying "From what I hear he can not take care of himself at the moment. I highly doubt he'll be able to deal with a child."

Rosalind just shook her head. "Well you got what you want. I'm back. Can I go to bed now?"

Snape gave his daughter one last look over before saying "Go ahead. But I expect to see you in class tomorrow. Eight o'clock sharp."

Rosalind simply nodded and started to make her made to her room.

When she got to her room she found that all her other roommates were asleep except for Celia. She was sitting on her bed, still in the clothes she had worn to come get her in. Her knees were drawn to her chest and she was gazing ahead sightlessly.

Rosalind took in her friend in for a few moments and began to go over to talk to her, but decided to change out of her grimy clothes.

She shuffled over to her wardrobe and took out some fresh pajamas; she gently began to take off her shirt, revealing her small but still noticeable baby bump.

She could see Celia's eyes fixed on her abdomen and she said "I know. Crazy, right? I can't believe I'm already three months along."

"You're really going to have his baby, huh?" Celia responded in a monotonous tone.

Rosalind gave a small sarcastic laugh and said "This shouldn't surprise you. You were the first to know."

She just shook her head and said "It's not the same. Hearing it and then seeing it, I mean."

Rosalind gave herself another look and said "Yeah, I know what you mean."

There was a silence for a moment before Celia spoke up again "He's changed a lot, you know."

Rosalind nodded her head and said "I know."

"I don't know if we can fix this." Celia said, eyes still glued to the wall before her.

"I don't know either but we can certainly try."

More silence followed.

"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" Celia whispered.

Rosalind thought back to the shadow of a man who called himself her Albus and how he had changed, she thought of Felix Bishop, she thought of Harry and Ginny Potter, and last but not least she thought of her child. The young life within her that hadn't even been given a chance at life yet and she turned her head to stare Celia straight in the eye.

"Yes," she said solemnly. "Yes it is."

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**Thanks for reading guys! Don't forget to review!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. We've been super busy! Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. **

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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Chapter 15

Somewhere in the distance, Big Ben struck eleven. Felix walked calmly along Victoria Embankment, whistling softly to himself. It wasn't often he found himself in the middle of London, but it was no mission of pleasure that brought him to this spot. The street was almost completely deserted, except for a group of screeching college kids who were popping beer bottles on the pavement. He watched them calmly, examined their faces. Most were hopelessly wasted, but one of the group's attention was continuously diverted in his direction. Felix's catlike grin widened and he sauntered over to the group.

"Excuse me," he rasped. "I need to borrow your friend for a few moments. I'll give him back." A young man with mussed blond hair, and who was staying upright only by the sheer force of his will, whirled around.

"Are you trying to order me 'round?" he slurred. Felix's face twitched into a grimace for a moment, but returned to its catlike mask before the young man had time to assess what was going on.

"No, I'm not. But you might let me take that gentleman away for a little while. I'll give him back...eventually." the young, blond gentleman looked over at the other young man, who had, by this time, started backing out of the circle.

"Wot...who?" he said. Felix brushed past him and walked toward the quickly retreating figure.

"Cygnus Lestrange, I presume?" he said. Cygnus turned and began to flee, heading toward the river.

"Stop!" Felix shrieked, hurtling behind. It was a very odd sight, seeing two cloaked figures running down the side of the embankment to the river, jets of light flying in odd directions from both of them. The other students stared at them as they howled at one another. Started screeching as soon as one of them fell into the river, and ran away again when the other (the shadows were too heavy to tell who it was), somehow fired green jets of light at them. One of the green jets hit the young blond man in the chest. He fell over in a crumpled heap, causing a few of the girls from the group to scream.

Below, Felix was howling in rage. He yanked off his jacket and hat, and dove into the water, his wand in hand and knife in his teeth. He saw the gently floating form of Cygnus, who was fighting to get away from his thick woolen cloak. Felix swam over, and swiped at Cygnus, who drew his wand and fired at Felix. He missed because of the cloak however, which was slowly dragging him lower and lower in the murky Thames water. Felix swam after him, took another broad swipe at him. The blade caught the cloak, cutting Cygnus free. He swam to the surface of the river, and took in a lungful of the sooty city air.

And felt Felix's grip clamp around his ankle, dragging him down to the depths once again. Cygnus delivered a very well placed kick to the crook of Felix's elbow, and swam as quickly as he could to the bank of the river, rolled out, and laid there for a few seconds panting.

Felix's face broke the dark surface of the water, his expression a mixture of rage and something else...something hardly human that was very badly concealed. It was as though the leathery skin had been stretched into a grotesque parody of a drunken leer, his long eyelashes dripping the polluted water. He swam as soundlessly as possible to the bank, and drew his knife. Cygnus didn't see the glint of the knife until seconds before impact.

The gleaming blade wedged itself nicely between Cygnus' shoulder and collar bones, drawing a gurgling well of blood from his body. He screamed as Felix reclaimed his knife and sunk below the surface of the water. Cygnus squeezed his eyes shut, and after a moment or two, his bleeding form disappeared. The college students above picked up their friend's lifeless body, and wondered how to tell his mother he was dead.

...

Rosalind sighed, and tried to concentrate on her History of Magic work. _Good God...can't the day just be over already?_ As though on cue, the ghost that announced the change of classes floated in and screeched that she needed to be in potions class. She walked into the hall, lost in her thoughts.

"You're Rosalind, aren't you?" Rosalind whirled around. Rhea Greyback, looking thinner and more cut up than usual stood there, clutching a satchel and looking exhausted.

"Yes." She said, facing her slowly. The older girl rushed to Rosalind, and promptly burst into loud, earnest sobs.

"Erm-Rhea...can you...I mean, what's the matter?" she cried, unsure how to take a sobbing half-werewolf on her shoulder.

"I never thought...I mean I never wanted...I don't...I don't know. Can we go somewhere and talk, please?" she said. Rosalind chewed her lower lip.

"Look, I'm supposed to be in Potions-"

"This is so much fuckin' bigger thank bloody Potions!" Rhea screeched. Rosalind put her hand over Rhea's mouth and sighed in frustration.

"Alright, let's go somewhere and talk." she said.

"Thank you. I need to tell you the whole, awful story..."

...

Celia-

I'm leaving Hogwarts for good. I'll try to get in touch with you when I can, if I can. I love you. And I'm being careful, so no need to tell anyone where I've gone.

-Rosalind.

Severus Snape felt the scrap of paper drift from between his fingers and grace the floor. Celia sat in one of the armchairs in his office, sobbing into her palms. After a moment of standing like this, the sounds of the dying fire and Celia's crying filling the air like some kind of oppressive, noxious gas, he turned to here.

"Where has she gone?" he asked softly.

"I...I-"

"Celia," he said. "Where has she gone."

"To...to find Al..." she whispered. After a moment of silence, he looked at her.

"Get your friends together," he said. "We're leaving tonight."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed! Don't forget to review! **

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Here's the net chapter. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's**

* * *

Chapter 16:

Rose Weasley currently found herself in a situation she never really thought possible before tonight. She was romping through the woods with Celia Steele, Scorpius Malfoy and Severus Snape in search of Rosalind Snape, who had gone missing the night before.

She walked behind the professor who muttered angrily under his breath, still upset about not being able to directly apparate to Godric's Hollow. Albus had put up all sorts of shields blocking them from apparating directly there plus Celia still had yet to get her license to apparate. Her hand was lightly clasped in Scorpius' while Celia stumbled through the brush beside them.

Rose couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Scorpius looked at her with curiosity. She said "Just the situation really. The thought of my father's face if he knew where I was right now is pretty amusing too."

Scorpius laughed along with her. "It's bad enough that you're with a Malfoy." He wore a smile and said his last name with a sarcastic sense of disgust. Rose laughed loudly before burrowing into the side of Scorpius' chest. "But this Malfoy is so comfy."

Scorpius snorted while Celia smiled lightly. "Do your families know that you two are together?"

The young couple, who were now walking awkwardly with each other's arms slung around their waists, simply sighed in return. Scorpius answered first "Not at all. If my father didn't kill me my grandfather would."

"My parents don't either. My cousins have almost let it slip hundreds of times, and I almost came close to telling my mother once. But I never have gone through with it and after all the stress they've gone through after losing Uncle Harry…I can't."

Celia nodded sympathetically.

"But we plan to tell them all after graduation." Scorpius said firmly. "This way we don't have to worry about having nowhere to live. We'll be legal and if they disown us…well, we'll be on our own then."

Rose nodded but looked sullen at the thought of losing her family.

"You guys would just leave your families like that?" Celia asked.

Scorpius shrugged in reply. "I've never really gotten on with my father and my grandfather. My mother will deal. She was never a particularly strong willed woman so I doubt she'd fight for me, no matter how much she loves me."

Celia and Scorpius' eyes moved to Rose. She stayed silent for a few moments before saying "I love him and if my family really loves me they'll understand."

She said it quickly and in a matter of fact tone, as if it were a painful truth. Celia felt her admiration for the couple beside her swell.

After that first conversation, words flowed freely between the three. A new relationship had been born from a mutual concern for Albus and Rosalind. They talked about many things. Even Snape would throw in a few words if he found the conversation appealing enough, but mostly he only glared and told them to shut up.

…

Rosalind looked nervously from the house to the shivering girl before her. "I think it best if you did this without me."

Rhea's mouth gaped before opening and closing for a few moments. "Me?" she squeaked. "Alone?"

Rosalind nodded. "I'd only distract him. The last time we saw each other was about two months ago and we hadn't really parted on a happy note."

Rhea nodded and slowly started piecing together what she would say to him, but after thinking over what Rosalind had said she grew curious. "He does know you're…you know…, right?" she asked cautiously while looking pointedly at her five month pregnant belly.

Rosalind blushed a bit before saying "It doesn't matter. My pregnancy has nothing to do with your situation."

Rhea was about to question farther but decided it would be wise not to aggravate Rosalind anymore. She merely nodded and said "Alright then. I'll tell him you send your love."

And with that she headed towards the door.

…

Rose pulled her rain coat tighter around her small frame. She gazed up at the rusted and dirty statue of the James and Lily Potter in the center of town. Her eyes lowered to the baby in the woman's arms and she frowned.

It's funny all you can learn, all the information you can gain from the faces of a statue.

She hadn't really felt the loss of her uncle until now. She'd been so busy with trying to help Al cope that she hadn't had time to cope herself. It wasn't like she had been extremely close with her uncle but she still loved him, as she did all her other family. But her uncle had been an enigma. He had been normal enough; he had given the best hugs and let her and her brother get away with murder when he baby sat and was great to play quidditch with. But there was always a part of him she would never part of him she'd never understand, a part of him he revealed to no one. There had been a part of her uncle so wracked with guilt and sorrow over those lost in the war. He rarely showed it but occasionally, on the anniversary of Voldemort's downfall, he would close up and become a shell of the man she knew. When he was like that there was only person who could get him out of it: Al. They had a special relationship. On the outside they seemed completely separate beings but when it came to the very core of who they were; their inner most demons, they understood each other better than anyone else on the face of the planet.

Rose couldn't help the tears from falling. They were not bitter sobs like she had seen her grandmother give at the funeral, but slow silent tears. They weren't bitter or resentful or angry but sorrowful. Sorrow over her soon to be born cousin that was sure to be without a father, sorrow over what she knew was soon to come and most of all sorrow over the loss of not one, but two genuinely good men.

Years after this night, when asked, everyone agreed that this was the night that Albus Severus Potter had turned bad. I mean the night he truly, really lost sight of all sense of right and wrong.

They, of course, judged him for the events that have yet to come. But Rose Weasley made this judgment not on what he would do later that night, or even over the next few months.

She made her judgment based on what she saw in the faces of the statue.

…

"So, you had something important to tell me?" Albus said calmly, though he was highly suspicious.

Rhea shivered before saying "Y-yes. It's about m-my boyfriend, Cygnus."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "What does he have to do with me?"

Rhea sighed before saying "He-well he-"

The poor girl didn't stand a chance. As soon as she had said 'he' she was doomed. When she had opened her mouth in an attempt to finally clear her conscience, Albus saw the missing canine tooth. The one that matched the tooth he had found smashed into the molding of this very house.

He growled and stood from his chair so forcefully and quickly the chair he had been occupying flew five feet backwards. He had the girl pinned to the wall with a firm hand around her neck, within seconds.

"You killed them! How dare you step back into this house! How dare you!" he screamed.

Rhea squirmed, hands scratching desperately at Albus' hand around her throat. Her eyes reflected terror as she tried to explain. But she couldn't get the words out with his hand blocking her airways.

Albus raised his wand to her face, pure anger and malice shining in his eyes. "You'll pay for what you did to them."

The words rolled easily off his lips. He only heard the panicked "NO!" after it was too late. The curse had been said and Rhea's now dead form crumpled to the ground. She looked waifish and slight in death.

Albus panted heavily as he looked down at the body with not regret, but satisfaction. He didn't even think to see where the scream had come from until he heard sniffles and whimpers coming from the doorway.

Albus spun around quickly to see who had seen what he had done. He clenched his wand and readied himself for confrontation. His face turned to one of shock and horror as his eyes landed on Rosalind's face, contorted in horror and disbelieve. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head. Their eyes met and whatever was left of Albus' heart shattered. She looked utterly horrified and betrayed.

Before he could get a better look at her, before he could even say a word she bolted out of the doorway.

…

Rosalind ran, she ran as fast as she could. She ran away from the horror she had just seen and hoped that if she ran away from it fast enough it would all go away. Finally, her lungs gave out. She has no clue where she was but knew she couldn't continue. She panted and clutched her chest as what just happened continued to flash behind her eyes and sobbed. She could barely breathe through her tears but she couldn't stop them from coming.

She had just seen the man she loved, the man she _trusted _brutally, mercilessly kill someone, someone who had been trying to tell him the truth about his parents' murder, someone trying to help him. The pain was too much, she couldn't stand it.

She fell to the ground her knees hitting the cobblestones painfully. The warm April air blew her hair about as she pulled her knees as close to her chest as her swollen belly would allow. She didn't know how long she sat there crying but when her sobs had finally subsided the first rays of sunshine were pouring in through the horizon.

Rosalind wiped her face and winced as she felt an all too familiar punching feeling in her stomach that she knew was her child making his or her presence known. It seemed, to her, ironic that her baby chose now of all times to give her a nudge.

…

Rose, Scorpius, Celia and Snape had been searching the town of Godric's Hollow all night. They had gone to the old Potter house only an hour before and it was empty. It bore no signs of what had happened during the night. It would be a reasonable assumption to think Al and Rosalind had left together, but Celia insisted on searching the rest of the town. She kept saying that she just _knew _she was here somewhere.

It wasn't until 6:10, that they found Rosalind, wandering around the town square. Her cloak was dirty, her hair bedraggled and her face etched with fear and sadness. But her search party all gave sighs of relief at the sight of her.

The three teens ran to her while the professor strode quickly behind them.

"Rosalind!" Celia yelled as she skidded to a halt before her friend. "Rosalind, what happened? Where's Rhea? Where's Al?"

Rosalind had flinched at the mention of Rhea. She broke into sobs at the mention of Al.

The four others exchanged confused looks before Snape stepped forward. He awkwardly laid a hand on her shoulder before saying "Rosalind. What happened?"

She promptly fell onto her father's chest and grasped onto the front of his robe. His hand stayed on her back, embracing her in a quasi-hug. He patted her back somewhat awkwardly, somewhat comfortingly as they waited for a response.

It took a few moments before Rosalind could compose herself enough to say, in a small, meek voice "She's dead. Albus killed her."

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**Hope you guys liked it. Sorry if you liked Rhea :(**

**Please, please, please review!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Welcome back! I know it's been a while, but school has been super busy lately. Thank goodness next week is Winter Break!**

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. **

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Chapter 17

Rosalind explained once how she saw Albus' handsome features contort into the horrific mask of a murderer. How the unforgivable words had rolled from his tongue as quickly and easily as a "hello" or a "how are you." How the poor, tormented werewolf girl had crumpled into an accordion of flesh and bone and somehow be dead. Rosalind produced Rhea's tooth that she'd reclaimed as she was dashing out the door. The tears fell thick and fast in her explanation to her father, her head pressed to his chest as though she was five again, and he was telling her that there were no monsters beneath her bed, and she shouldn't be so silly. But now, there was a monster. As Snape listened to his daughter's confession, he realized with growing fear what path Albus was slipping down. No. It can't happen...not again.

"That's the whole story, father," her trembling voice awoke Snape from his thoughts. He composed his expression into what he assumed was one of comfort, and looked down at his daughter. Her face was streaked with mud, sweat and tears, and actually pained him to see. Awkwardly, the professor patted her hand.

"Alright. Get back to your room, Rosalind. I'm going to sort this out." he said. She stood, shaking hands balled into fists.

"Father?"

"Yes?" he asked, an unwanted edge of impatience creeping into his voice.

"You're going to tell the faculty?" she asked. He nodded. Rosalind nodded, and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Go to your room, Rosalind," He said softly. "Go be with your friends." She nodded, and somehow managed to leave the room without collapsing, though how she pulled off this feat of magic, even she was not entirely certain.

...

The girl with wild black curls had been in that seedy little bar in Clapham three times that week. Felix propped his boots on the table, and watched as she downed a shot, two shots of whiskey. Her wand was badly concealed in the folds of a strange looking pleather-and-velveteen jacket, and the chains dangling from her trousers clicked rather annoyingly against the stool. Her nails were black and red, and bitten down. Contrary to all of these accoutrements, however, her face was oddly round, peppered with freckles, and had a pair of doe like grey eyes surrounded by thick black lashes. After her third whiskey, Felix sprung from his position with catlike agility, and called to her from the left side of the bar.

"Hello." she found him with her eyes, at first wide and innocent, but now blazing with fire (that was probably assisted by the whiskey).

"Hello," She replied. "Who're you?"

"Name's Felix. Bishop. Yours?" he asked, slithering from his seat.

"Alice." she replied.

"Forgive me, but you look familiar. Alice...what?" he asked.

"Longbottom. Alice Longbottom." she said. His face lit up like a candle.

"Ah! One of the Longbottoms. Just the girl I was looking for..." he sat on the stool beside her, and ordered two more whiskeys. And Alice, not being one to refuse a free whiskey, opened her ears to the very strange man's proposals.

Hours later, Alice was more than a little drunk, and staggered out of the bar, singing and swearing, Felix behind her. He smirked, and guided her gently back toward Godric's Hollow.

"We're going to go see someone...someone I think you'll like." He said gently. She cackled like a crone, and pulled out her wand. As the muggles around her stared, she pointed what looked like a stick to them at a tipsy twenty something.

"CRUCIO!" she screeched, sending the woman into writhing spasms of pain, which almost made Alice pass out with mirth. Felix dragged her away from the screaming woman and confused crowd.

"Yes," he said grimly. "I think you're going to like Master very much."

...

Cygnus walked slowly home, his shoulder covered in thick magical salve that stank to high heaven. He banged in, and practically collapsed on top of the rickety kitchen table.

"Rhea!" he roared. The house was silent, save for a quiet rustling in the den. He craned his neck to see who was sitting in the armchair at the far end of the den.

"Lumos." the shape's voice said flatly. At once, the light at Cygnus' back ignited, filling the room with the stink of gas, and throwing the shape's features into sharp relief. Scorpius Malfoy, looking more like his father than ever, was sitting there. He did not look happy.

"Who are you?" Cygnus asked.

"No one," he said, rising from the chair. In his right hand was his wand, the other was reaching into his breast pocket. After a moment's search, he produced a folded black square. "No one at all."

"What are you doing here?" Cygnus asked, fumbling for his wand in the folds of his cloak.

"Nothing. I stopped by to give you this," he said, dropping the square onto the table. "A little token." Cygnus opened it with shaking fingers. Out tumbled a small, canine tooth.

"What...?" he whispered, looking at the blond boy.

"A token," Scorpius repeated. "A little something..." Cygnus squinted at it, trying to understand what it was. Something in the back of his mind must've told him what was happening, because though the reason was unbeknownst to him, he felt a sense of cold dread steal over him, goosebumps rising on his skin.

"The only something left of your girlfriend." He spat coldly.

"No," he whispered. Scorpius stood, and with a loud crack disapparated. "Oh...God..._**NO**_!!!!"

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**Wow, I can't believe we're at chapter 17 already. For those of you who are wondering there quite a bit of the story left. And thank you for those of you who have stuck with this story!**

**Thanks for reading! Please, please, please review!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys. This is my (Joanna/Kyo's Querida1293) chapter. I'll make sure Bronnie will get her's up ASAP. **

**To the constant followers of this story, I would like to apologize in advanced if there is a horrendous wait for my chapter next time around, but I've decided to leave fanfiction for a while. If you want a more in depth explanation, go to my profile.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns it all.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 18:

Rosalind sighed and glared down at her Arithmancy homework. How was she supposed to focus on her work when so much was going on? Her back ached, her ankles were swollen and she had started borrowing Scorpius' school shirts since even the largest sized female shirts didn't fit her anymore. On top of all this, Rosalind's emotions were all over the place. Aided by her raging hormones, Rosalind would find herself succumbing to all the stress and trauma around her. It was now common place to find her openly weeping in the halls between classes. She was heartbroken.

She wasn't even allowed to escape in slumber. She had been having nightmares every night, in which she relived the horror of Albus' crime. The images haunted her, making all of her other stresses even worse. Her relationship with Albus would never be the same. Albus would never be the same.

Rosalind threw down her quill and laid her head in her hands. She enjoyed the silence of the library for a few moments before hearing the chair beside her slide out. She didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"How'd it all get so damn bad, Rose?"

"It was a lot of things really." the Ravenclaw responded wearily.

Rosalind finally moved her hands away to take in the girl who she had slowly become close friends with. Her wild red curls were piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Her normally bright and attentive brown eyes were dim, bangs were under them. She looked tired. There were a few moments of silence where Rosalind began to collect her things and Rose's eyes bore into the table, her fingers tracing the patterns in the wood.

After Rosalind had shoved all her things into her bag, she looked at Rose expectantly, waiting for her to move. There were a few more beats of silence before Rose gave a small snort of bitter amusement and nodded before whispering "And it's just gotten worse."

Rosalind's brows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean?" her voice shook with worry.

Rose finally lifted her eyes from the wood and sad "They know."

"Who? Who knows what?" Rosalind asked.

"The Malfoys. They know about us. My parents will know soon too."

Rosalind gasped. "How?"

Rose shook her head in frustration, but still wore a good natured smile. "Scorpius." she breathed.

"What?!" Rosalind yelled. "I thought you were waiting to tell them after graduation, together."

"We were." Rose responded. She wore a smile, which confused Rosalind. "You see, about a month back, I was going through one of the photo albums Scorp has and I saw a picture of him with his grandmother on his mother's side. It was a formal portrait and she was wearing all the family jewelry and on her left hand was the most gorgeous engagement ring. I made a comment about it to Scorpius and he told me that it was a Greengrass family ring and it would probably go to one of his cousins after he told his family about us. I shrugged it off thinking that it was done.

"But apparently, Scorpius went to go visit his grandmother afterwards. He wanted to ask her for the ring before we told his family and had him disowned. She of course wanted to know why he wanted it. He was forced to tell her if he wanted the ring. His mother's side had always been a bit more accepting than his father's so he took a chance. His grandmother accepted it and gave him the ring, but she told his mother who told his father who told Lucius."

"Oh no..." Rosalind groaned.

"Yeah, I know." Rose replied. "Scorpius got the most horrible letter from them this morning. It gave him an ultimatum. It said if he left me now they wouldn't disown him."

"What'd Scorpius do?" Rosalind asked nervously.

Rose's smile broadened even further. "He gave me this." She held out her left hand, which had previously been covered by her sweater. On her ring finger laid an elegant, shimmering diamond: the Greengrass heirloom.

Rosalind gasped. "Are you guys…engaged?"

Rose laughed "Well we're a bit too young for that, but in a way, yes. One day it will be. Right now it's more of…a promise ring of sorts."

Rosalind smiled and threw her arms around her friend. "You guys are so strong. Know that I'm happy for you, no matter what happens."

They hugged tightly for a few moments, only letting go when the baby gave a particularly strong kick. Rosalind smiled "Even the baby agrees."

Rose patted Rosalind's protruding belly and said "I'm glad to know I'll have some family who's behind me, little cousin."

Rosalind smiled and Rose asked "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"I have a boy's name picked out. I have no clue what I'll do if the baby's a girl."

Rose smiled and squeezed Rosalind's hand. "You'll think of something."

Rosalind squeezed Rose's hand back for a few moments and then slowly got up, saying that she was going to drop by her father's office quickly before going to bed.

As Rose watched Rosalind leave she couldn't help but whisper "You are far stronger than the rest of us will ever be."

…

Severus Snape sat in front of Minerva McGonagall, a serious look in both their faces. James and Lily Potter sat on his right side, their faces also serious but at the same time innumerably sad.

"You know the path the boy is traveling, Minerva. We've seen it before." Snape said.

The headmistress nodded solemnly. "He was always such a sweet boy. He changed so many people; he dissolved so much prejudice between the houses. He made it his mission to prove that not all Slytherin's were bad people…how could this have happened?"

"Grief and suffering can change the best of men, I'm afraid." Snape replied it was followed by a get wrenching sob from Lily. James held her tighter against his chest.

Minerva sighed before saying "Well, the proper precautions must be taken. Lily, James, your brother is highly unstable. We aren't sure who he will target next and we must protect you just in case. You will be put in protective custody and-"

"No." Lily said firmly, looking up from her brother's chest.

At the headmistress' surprised look Lily stood so abruptly and forcefully that her chair went flying backward. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she screamed "My brother would never hurt us! I won't believe it! I won't!"

She ran from the room, ignoring the others protests to stop. After a few moments of silence James excused himself to go retrieve her.

The two professors sat in silence for a bit before Minerva said "Thank you for telling me all this Severus. I will try again when they have both calmed down a bit. It's a lot to process."

Severus nodded and said "I wish it weren't true myself."

He walked slowly back to his quarters, milling over recent events. He stopped short when he noticed the huddled form sitting next to his door. She lifted her head as he approached.

"Rosalind?" he asked.

She nodded and said "I wanted to talk, if that's okay."

Snape continued to look at her, confused, as if he was saying '_Don't you have friends for that?'_

Her eyes soon found his as she said "I've just been a bit lonely lately."

Severus Snape did not openly love others. He did not show his affection often. But he did indeed love and hearing his daughter plead with him made his heart break. She'd gone through so much.

He nodded and helped her onto her feet. As they walked into his quarters and settled in he asked "How was your day today, Rosalind?"

Her face brightened automatically as she began to rattle off about her various classes.

…

Felix Bishop sat on his normal stool at the seedy bar in Clapham, where he had met Alice Longbottom just two nights ago. He had left her with Albus to get better acquainted. He calmly sipped on his whiskey. It was a quiet night, only a slight murmur running through the small building.

It was as the bartender was refilling his glass that he heard the door burst open. He turned around to come face to face with a furious Cygnus Lestrange. He reached for his signature dagger in defense but was stopped by Cygnus' hand firmly grabbing his wrist.

"Don't bother." He growled. "I'm not here for you."

Felix raised an eyebrow in response.

Cygnus bared his teeth as he ground out "I'm here to give you a message for your master. Tell him that he better watch his back because I am a _very_ firm believer in an eye for an eye and I seem to remember him having an awfully pretty girl on his arm last. And unlike him I'll make sure there isn't even a tooth for him to cling to when I'm done."

And with one last growl and glare he released Felix's wrist and stormed out, his threat still ringing in the air.

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**Hope you guys liked it. Don't forget to review!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys. Welcome back to LLL. We're almost to twenty! We were originally planning for this to only be 25 chapters...I guess that won't be happening....oh well....**

**Disclaimer: We don't own HP, nor do we own Moulin Rouge. If you know the movie you'll see the reference later. **

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**Chapter 19**

Rosalind groaned as she tried to sit up from her bed in the dormitory. It hurt to even do that, she thought. The child was always kicking, it seemed, keeping her awake in the middle of the night and making it nearly impossible to concentrate on any of her schoolwork. She prayed to whatever deity that might be listening to make the little brat calm down at least, but it was to no avail. Her child stubbornly kicked along without a care in the world. Madam Pomfrey, her father, and Professor McGonagall tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but with the year quickly drawing to a close, their area of influence was shrinking by the day.

"Don't try to sit up," Rose said, patting Rosalind's arm. "You'll only hurt yourself."

"No, really?" Rosalind snapped. Rose's face fell immediately, hurt registering on her pretty features. After a tense moment, Rosalind sighed and gently took Rose's outstretched hand.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I'm just irritable. Please don't take it to heart Rose. I don't mean any of it." Rose gave her a small smile, and squeezed Rosalind's hand as she lay back on the pillows. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling more tired than she had in a long time.

"I don't know how I'm going to take my exams," she said grimly. "Or what I'm going to do next year."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"I don't know how I can come back if I have a child to care for," she said sadly. "Especially if I don't have anyone around to help. Father will be teaching...and I don't have any family besides him. You and Scorpius will be busy...well. You know." Rose blushed. Rosalind smirked, and batted at Rose's hand playfully. For a few moments, they sat together in silence.

"I suppose you're right," Rose said. "It will be difficult...are you going to live with-"

Rosalind, despite feeling rather bloated and disgusting, suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Oh my GOD!" she shrieked. Rose's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Erm-"

"Rose, that's it! I can stay, don't you see?" she cried, grasping at her friend's arms.

"What?"

"I'll move in with my father in the teacher's dormitory! Oh my God, why didn't I think of this _before_?!" she said, smiling widely and falling back onto her pillows. Rose was at a loss for words. The only thing going through her mind was: _her father isn't going to be exactly pleased..._

...

"_Come what may...come what may...I will love you..._" Albus looked up from eating in the kitchen to the ceiling. _What the hell...?_

"_Until my dying...daaay..._" what followed was a loud _bang_, and the sounds and smells of something being on fire. He leaped out of his seat, tearing up the stairs. He met with Felix on the way, who looked as bewildered as he did.

The two of them ran into the attic, where they saw Alice. Now, on most occasions, this would not be the disturbing and odd event that it turned out to be. But there was a bonfire going that was made of photographs, papers, and pieces of a chair that had been in one of the guest rooms. As he looked closer, he realized what she was burning. Photographs and notes of and about Rosalind. And Rosalind had sat in that chair when she had stolen away from Hogwarts to see him. Albus' mouth dropped to the floor in shock.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" He thundered.

"_Come what may,_" she sang. "_Come what may!_"

"_FELIX!_" He shouted, bringing the lank man into the attic as well. He stood, crammed against the sloped attic roof, his face a similar mask of shock.

"_I will love you, until my dying day!_" she grinned at Albus; an excited, expectant child waiting to hear that she had done something well.

"_**What the HELL are you doing?!**__"_ Albus screamed. Her smile dropped.

"I was...burning something." she mumbled.

"_Get out of here!_" he shouted.

"But master...please-"

"_I AM COMMANDING YOU,_" he screeched. "_TO GET THE FUCK OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU_!" her mouth opened and closed like a dying fish. Felix, thinking quickly, grabbed her by her arms and dragged her out of the attic. They could hear Albus sobbing angrily in the room above them.

"Why did you do that?" Felix hissed.

"Why not?" she cried. "I hate her! She doesn't do anything but make him sad, and she's not even _here_! I'm here, Felix! _I'm fucking here_!" Felix's lips were a tight line, and his eyes glinted in anger.

"Go to your room, you filthy whore." he growled. She barked in laughter, but upon seeing his furious expression, backed slowly away to the end of the corridor, where she threw open her door and slammed it shut. After a moment, Felix sat in the hall, and put his head down on his knees.

"Fucking hell." he spat.

...

In her room, Alice saw there was a spider crawling on her windowsill. She considered it; a thing that was both beautiful and terrifying. It had a little venom in its system, she was sure. Even a little venom was a menace.

_And a menace has to be dealt with, _she thought. _Even a small one._ She slowly searched for her wand in the folds of her clothes, simultaneously sitting on the floor.

_Even a small one..._she finally found her wand, and drew it from the innermost pocket of her jacket. _Even a small one...needs to be..._she pointed her wand at the little spider, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

_Eliminated_.

"_Avada Kedavra._" she whispered. A green jet of light issued from the tip of her wand, and the spider, after a moment of twitching, died on the sill. She sat unmoving, as though in a trance.

_Eliminate the menace, you eliminate the problem._ She smiled.

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**Oh boy. Looks like Alice is going to turn out to be more of a problem then we originally thought. I'll go into more detail on her next chapter. Whenever I write that, that is...I'm taking a bit of a break from 's a longer explanation on my profile. **

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review.**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	20. Chapter 20

**I can't believe we're at 20 already!**

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR.**

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Chapter 20:

Rosalind's eyes fluttered open, the sun shining through her window. She watched the willow tree outside her window sway blankly. She wasn't used to waking up here yet. She had only been back home for summer break for two days. She didn't know what to make of the seemingly harmless tree swinging gently from side to side. There were so many memories attached to those lifeless branches. But before Rosalind could contemplate it further, she felt a hard swift kick to her abdomen. She winced and glanced towards the clock. It was ten. While most would be leisurely eating breakfast or just waking up right about now, she knew her father would be awake, and probably in his study already. They needed to talk.

Rosalind knocked on her father's door with purpose. She waited a few moments for him to walk over. She wasn't surprised when he answered the door fully awake and dressed. He had always been an early riser. He simply raised an eyebrow at her presence. She hadn't been expecting a warm reception.

She cut straight the chase. "I am a bit over seven months pregnant now. We need to buy a place for my baby to sleep."

Snape mulled this over for a moment before saying "We?"

"Yes. We."

"Can't I just give you the money and you can go buy it with your friends?"

"C'mon dad! Don't you want to be an involved grandfather?"

His look clearly said: NO.

Rosalind sighed, "Rose and Scorpius are busy settling into their new apartment, plus they're still dealing with the backlash from their families and Celia is spending time with her father. I can't buy everything for the baby alone father."

They stared at each other for a bit, having some sort of father-daughter non-verbal exchange, until Snape finally gave in.

"Fine. Let me get my cloak."

…

Alice Longbottom hadn't come from a broken home. Her parents weren't insane or abusive. In fact, they had loved her dearly. They probably still did. So it wasn't surprising that many people asked 'Why?' or 'How?'. How had a girl with such promise become so, well, insane?

She had been the third child of Neville and Hannah Longbottom's five children. Her two older brothers had always gotten attention for being the oldest and the only boys, while her two younger sisters had gotten all the attention for being the youngest and twins. She had been quite often shuffled aside and left in the dust. But children had come out of middle child syndrome, vaguely unharmed, which leads to 'Why?'. Why was Alice different?

Well, when most middle children fought for attention or tried to sabotage their siblings, Alice had made her own friends. When she was being ignored she'd play with her friends. Her friends that were always with her, the many voices in her head. Her parents had let her keep up with her antics for awhile, writing it off as imaginary friends.

But as the years passed and she grew older, her 'friends' did not go away. By age fourteen, her parents could hardly call it imaginary friends anymore. They had tried to help her, but the more her parents tried to get her to see some sort of therapist, the more the voices would yell and hiss. They would tell her all sorts of nasty things about her parents, that they were trying to make her forget how they had ignored her, how they had tossed her aside.

They fought for two long, hard years. But two day after her sixteenth birthday, Alice left her family screeching "YOU NEVER LOVED ME! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME! I'M GOING TO GO LIVE WITH THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DO CARE ABOUT ME!"

She then went out, moved into a small, ratty apartment and never talked to her family again. After she made it out of Hogwarts she would work at a small grocery store during the day and go to the bar Felix had met her in at night.

She didn't know how she fell in love with Albus. She had admired him ever since Felix had explained his movement. But when she heard him speak with such passion about how he _needed _to avenge his father, how his father had been one of the only people to understand him, she couldn't help herself. She hadn't understood why he had been denying all her advances until she found that box underneath his bed. It had been like a shrine. It was full of pictures of her and love notes and poems. She last one she found had been the poem she sang as she burned the box. She laughed as she thought back on the words. Come what may, eh? Alice didn't see this girl anywhere. Where was she?

Alice deserved Albus' love. Not her. And Alice would do anything to prove it.

…

"What do you mean 'you'll help me clean out a space in my quarters'?" Snape asked, slightly taken aback.

"Well, I can't very well keep an infant in the dorm." Rosalind replied, fanning herself while they walked down the road into town.

"So you can keep it in my personal quarters? This is your child, Rosalind. Not mine."

"Exactly. That's why I'll be moving in as well."

Snape sputtered incoherently. "What?!"

"It won't be that bad. We lived together in those same quarters for eleven years. It'll just be one more little body in there with us. Some professors have already volunteered to help babysit when I'm in class."

Her father merely glared.

"I need some sense of normality Dad. I want to finish my schooling."

Snape sighed in response and Rosalind chose to take it as a sign of acquiescence. She smiled and pulled open the door to the store. She held it open for her father to walk in, he merely sneered at the bright colors and cartoon figures decorating the store. Rosalind motioned for him to enter and he reluctantly stepped in, his black cloak flowing behind him.

They sorted through many a crib, and it seemed for whatever crib one liked, the other hated. After an hour of this Rosalind huffed and said "You keep looking, I need a break! I'm going to go look at some clothes."

She wandered over to the clothes rack and began picking out all sorts of shirts and pants and tiny socks and shoes. It was about twenty minutes later that she heard her father's voice call out "Rosalind."

She turned and walked back over, her arms full of clothing. She spotted her father standing towards the back of the store looking over a small crib.

"I like it." He said simply, not even looking up.

Rosalind took the crib in. It was an antique, not nearly as big as some of the other cribs, but large enough to last until he was in a regular bed. It had curved bottoms which allowed it to rock and the bars on the edges were high enough the keep the baby safe. But what really got her were the intricate, swirling patterns along the top of the crib. The delicate swirls all came together at the head of the bed to show a carving of a clearing in the forest with a large tree in the center, much like the one she and Albus has celebrated their anniversary in nearly eight months ago. At the base of the tree sat a small, yet flawless lily.

Rosalind felt the tears sting at her eyes but held them back. She hugged the clothes tighter to her and said "Yes. I like it too."

It was silent for a few moments before her father spoke again. "You do realize that the chances that this child will be a boy are just as great as it being a girl."

Rosalind was confused at this random comment until she followed his gaze. He was staring at the large pile of clothing she was holding. Rosalind looked down at the pile and realized that every single piece of clothing she had bought was obviously male.

She smiled bashfully before saying "I don't know! It's just a feeling I have. I just feel like it's going to be a boy."

Her father rolled his eyes. "A feeling, well those aren't quite trustworthy now are they? In fact, I'm pretty sure they're what got you in this state in the first place."

Rosalind glared at him for a bit before conceding. "Fine then, you can choose a few girly outfits if it makes you feel better. I'm pretty sure about this one though."

He had started strolling over to the clothing racks before she had even finished her sentence. He quickly scanned the rack before picking out one article of clothing.

"Well, since you're so certain we'll only get one." He said while laying the tiny dress on the pile. Rosalind laughed at his choice. It was pink. And frilly. And totally un-Severus Snape.

"What?" he asked. "It's girly."

Rosalind nodded. "Indeed it is. Alright let's go."

…

Alice crept into the run down cabin where Albus and Felix were keeping camp. After word spread about Rhea's death they had to find a new place to both live and meet with the man new followers Albus was gathering.

She closed the door behind her lightly, hoping to all things holy that Felix wasn't around. She stayed still for a few moments, straining her ears to try and hear the sounds coming from the old house. She heard footsteps coming from above in Albus' bedroom.

She had held her breath as she climbed the staircase, desperately trying not to make a peep. His door was open. She peeked inside to see him sitting on the bed, the charred remains of the box she had burned were scattered across it. Only one picture had survived the flames, its edges only lightly blackened. He was staring at it with eyes that looked as if they were about to burst into tears.

"Rosalind, I'm sorry." he said, his voice quivering. "I know what you saw, but it wasn't what it looked like…she _killed _my parents. She helped kill my father, the only person in my whole goddamn family who loved me." His fists curled around the bedspread, turning his knuckles white.

"But then again, there was Rose, though I doubt she feels that way anymore. You two were getting quite close last time I saw the two of you. You probably told her. And… there was Scorpius and you, who I count among my family. You guys loved me too…even when I didn't deserve it. But now I've gone and lost all of you."

The first tear.

"You've probably all gone and moved on with your lives."

The second tear.

"Rosalind I still love you, especially you Rosalind. I still want to marry you. I still want to live in Godric's Hollow with you and our Children."

Full on sobs now racked his body as he choked out, "But now I'm too far in. There are people-nearly fifty of them, calling me Master and making plans and I just can't leave. Even if I did, what would I go back to? People who despise me?"

He laid his gaunt face in his pale bony fingers and continued to sob, his wails reverberating throughout the whole house. Her footfalls were quiet as she walked over to him. She slipped her arms around his scrawny shoulders and whispered "Now, now darling." Her hands traveled under his shirt and into his hair. "Why focus on the past when there's so much promise in the future?"

Her tongue snaked out and traced the curve of his ear. He swung his arm around in response, hitting her hard in the stomach. She flew off the bed and crashed into the floor. She screamed in pain and clutched at the part of her head that had collided with the ground.

"Get away from me, you filthy whore!" he screamed, now standing above her. "How many times do I have to tell you I will never love you?!" he accentuated each word with a hard kick to various parts of her crumpled form.

He glared at her for a few moments before grabbing the picture on the bed and walking out, saying "Be gone by the time I'm back."

…

It took Alice a while to scrape herself off of the floor but eventually she did, muttering that she needed to get a drink. She wandered over to the bar where Felix had first found her and ordered a bottle of firewhiskey.

Somewhere around her sixth shot a young man with thick curly hair and thin features tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around slowly, not wanting to test her balance.

"So sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear you. Did you say something about love and Albus Potter?"

She looked at the man with a blank look. Funny. She hadn't even realized she had been talking to herself. "Probably." she responded. "He loves me, he does. He just doesn't know how to show it."

A scary, feral sort of grin spread across the man's face. He took one more sip of his drink before he whispered "Excellent."

Then all went black.

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**Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. **

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Happy Easter! **

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: It's all JKR's.**

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Chapter 21:

Alice awoke in a small, dank room that smelled slightly of dead rats and other dead things that she didn't want to think of. She was tied with thick ropes, to a rickety canvas chair. After a moment of trying to regain her bearings, she noticed the curly haired man that she met at the bar lounging in the corner of the room. His face, though heavily shadowed, did not look happy by any means.

"Why did you bring me here? What are you going to do?" Alice rasped. The young man did not reply, only twiddled his wand between his fingers.

"What the hell are you going to do!?" she screamed. At length, he turned.

"You're not showing. I'm surprised...I'd have thought that you might have at least started by now." He growled. Something in his tone made her want to cry.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What do you think I mean, you thick-" there was a loud crash above them that made the young man's head whip around. She could see him better in the harsh light streaming from above wherever they were. His features were thrown into sharp relief, the shadows turning his face into a tense, skeletal mask. Alice gasped.

"What?" he cried, turning back to her.

"N-nothing. Nothing." she stammered.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked. She chewed her lower lip.

"No." her answer came out in a squeak. After a second of dead silence, he laughed, his breath stirring the stale air.

"My name is Cygnus Betelguse Lestrange." Alice opened her mouth to introduce herself.

"Don't bother, Rosalind," Cygnus barked. "I know who you are."

"Rosalind?"

"Shut up." He spat. Alice, who understood what it meant to take orders, shut her mouth immediately. Cygnus began to pace back and forth slowly, his shoulders clenched. He reminded her rather strangely of a large cat. A very large, very upset cat.

"You've got to understand, Rosalind," he was drawing a rather large bowing knife from his jacket. Alice eyed it and the wand with equal fear. "This isn't anything personal. It's just business."

He pointed the knife at her, pointed his wand at the knife, and muttered a spell. The blade erupted in venomous looking black fire. He muttered another short phrase, and the knife flew at Alice.

"Well," he said, his words almost completely drowned out by her cries of pain. He waited a full few minutes before brandishing his wand and screaming "CRUCIO!" Alice's screams filled the air of the little room as though they were some kind of noxious gas.

"Maybe it is just a little...personal."

...

Felix didn't consider himself a violent man. But every time he saw Alice's face, he knew that his non-violent temperament could only last for so long. He hated her, he thought, almost happily. Not even hate, he despised her. As though she could take the attention of the Master away from him...

He loathed the way that she laughed, and the way that she carried herself, and the way that she pined after the Master all the time. He wanted to strangle her. The Killing Curse was too easy for her, Felix decided. She'd need to die the old-fashioned, painful, bloody way. The way Muggles die.

"Of course." he muttered, fumbling unconsciously for the knife he liked to feel between his fingertips. "Of course...the way piggy, snouting Muggles die-"

"Felix?" he heard the Master's voice from down stairs. He dropped his coat, the pockets of which had been rifling through until moments ago, and bounded down the stairs.

"Yes, Master?" he asked. Albus sighed deeply.

"Where's Alice?" he asked. "I haven't seen her all day." Felix's lip curled at the mention of her name.

"Nor have I, Master," Felix replied. "Perhaps she's decided to deprive us of her company, and leave us for good?"

"I doubt it," Albus said. "But it is odd that she missed a meeting. And that she hasn't even been back at the house. No note, nothing."

"That is rather strange, Master. Perhaps if I were permitted to try and find her, I'd beat some sense into her when she tried to leave us without a note, phone call, or anything letting us know where she is." Felix said slickly.

"Perhaps..." Albus sounded vague.

"Perhaps I should teach her a lesson in who her better is," Felix was getting louder, his usually calm face twisting into a mask of fury. "Perhaps we should allow her no mercy-"

"Felix!" Albus cried. The taller man blinked a few times, and looked at his young Master.

"Yes, Master?" Albus sighed again, this time less out of weariness and more out of frustration.

"How many times have I told you not to call me Master. And please. Don't do anything to Alice. She's clearly wandered off. Just try to find her before tonight." he said. Felix nodded slowly.

"Alright." Albus gave his third, and deepest sigh, and walked away from his older compatriot. Felix's black eyes bored into his back.

"Master."

...

"What the hell are you doing?" Snape shouted. Rosalind turned from papering the wall.

"What?" she asked.

"You're papering my office!" he cried. Rosalind winced.

"Just this corner. That's where the baby's going to be sleeping." she said, as though this should have been evident to Snape from the very beginning. His jaw worked, but no sound came out.

"And I chose the least cheery paper. My child is going to grow up without cheery nursery wallpaper!" she said. Snape looked at the paper for a moment. It was baby blue with cerulean stripes, and had rubber duckies everywhere, doing various things that rubber duckies do. He looked at his daughter.

"That's the least cheery?" he croaked. She laughed, a spontaneous sound that made Snape realize how long it had been since he heard it. He looked more closely at his daughter.  
She had aged quite a bit for sixteen years old, with purple sleeplessness beneath her eyes, and lines already forming on her forehead and around her mouth. Her youthful bow mouth was lagging and grey, (she hadn't put makeup on in weeks) and her beautiful hazel eyes that had always been bright and dancing with life were like dull panes of glass in an old, dark house. Her skin too, showed itself to be less of a tone and more a pallor.

"Father?" her voice, harshened and unmusical, broke him from his thoughts. "Father, are you quite alright?"

"Y-yes..." he said. "Rosalind..."

"Yes father?" she asked, somewhat confused. There was a long pause where he only stared at her with a very mournful expression. How could I let this happen to my daughter, he thought. My own child.

"Nothing." he said at length. "Get to class."

...

Cygnus was angrier, if possible than before. He grabbed the drippy canvas sack from the floor, and heaved it over his shoulder. Thank Merlin for apparation he thought. He staggered under the weight of the canvas, and after a few seconds, disappeared into the night.

...

"She's completely gone."

"What do you mean, she's completely gone?" Albus said. Felix shrugged.

"Just what I said. She's completely, totally, one hundred and ten percent gone." he replied. Albus' eyes were wide, confused.

"I couldn't find her any-"

A deafening crash stopped both of them. The door sounded as though it had been broken down. They both ran to the front hall, where they found what they thought could have been Alice's bleeding, mutilated body. It was difficult to tell however, as she had no face left. There was a damp piece of paper pinned to her chest. Albus snatched it.

Next time, it read, it will be your precious little Rosalind.

Albus grabbed the note and crushed it in his shaking left fist. After a moment of staring at the dead body in the foyer, he closed his eyes and fell to the floor, hearing only the sounds of Felix screeching and the drip-drip of the blood as it thudded to the floor.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a happy and healthy Easter!**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	22. Chapter 22

**Soooo...funny story guys! I sort of thought I posted this but really i only sent it to Bronnie for proofing and didn't realize I hadn't posted it until today. So sorry guys! But you get two chapters today! Yay! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. **

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Chapter 22:

Rosalind squealed in delight as she unwrapped another present. Outside of this room was chaos. Cygnus was gathering more and more followers and Albus' followers were reacting violently. The numbers of murdered bodies found were spiking. All of the people realized what was happening but they chose to be oblivious, just for these few moments. They chose to ignore it and focus on the good things that came out of this mess. By throwing Rosalind a baby shower of course. Rose and Celia had decided long ago that a baby shower was necessary and had started planning right away. It was held in Rose and Scorpius' tiny apartment and was crammed full of people. Phoebe and Audrey had come in support of their roommate, along with many of the Weasley cousins. Hugo, Fred, Roxanne, Ted, Victorie, Dominique and Louis had all come. The most enthusiastic however were James and Lily, more than happy to welcome a new niece or nephew. The most reluctant was of course Snape. But he still came, which was something.

"This is so cute!" Rosalind exclaimed. "Thank you, Lily." She said, referring to the yellow pajamas Lily had given her.

"You're welcome, dear." Lily said. "When are you due, again?"

"The due date is in four days, but in reality I could go into labor any second now. It's just an estimate."

"Are you nervous?"

Rosalind sighed, "A little, but more excited."

"We are too." Lily said, nodding in the direction of James. "We needed something to celebrate. I just wish things with Albus could change."

The content smile slid from her face when Albus' name entered the conversation. "I wish it would, Lily. I really do. But this mess, it just keeps getting worse. I know McGonagall's working on it, but it's not going far." It was silent between the two for a minute, neither one not sure what to say.

"I shouldn't have waited." Rosalind said.

"Waited?" Lily questioned. "Waited for what?"

"I shouldn't have waited to tell him. We talked; we talked the night he left. It was the same day I found out I was pregnant. I shouldn't have let him go. I should've put up more of a fight. I should've made sure I told him. Maybe, if he knew he had a baby he'd stop. All those people wouldn't be dead. My baby would have a father."

Lily put an arm around Rosalind, trying to calm her down. "You can't keep thinking like that. You can't take the blame for all of this. Even if all of this hadn't happened, he wouldn't have been the same. And as for your baby being fatherless, well, I know they don't seem like much but they're the greatest guys I've ever known." She said referring to the clump of male Weasley's and Scorpius talking animatedly in the corner.

"Especially James. He's practically made it his mission in life to spoil this kid. He talks about it all the time. I can't even escape it because of this ridiculous protective custody business. It's just me, James and the Auror on duty 24/7. I can't tell you how much of a relief this party was."

Rosalind leaned into Lily and returning her embrace. "Thank you for all you've done. I know you helped Rosie and Celia with all of this too."

"It was my pleasure." Lily said with a smile, patting Rosalind's shoulder in a comforting way. Rosalind winced in pain.

"My God, I didn't think I patted you that hard." Lily said, half joking.

Rosalind laughed and said "Oh, no it wasn't you. My stomach's been hurting all day. The healers said I'd get more cramps as it got closer to the due date though, so I'm not surprised."

"Are you sure? I don't want you going into labor on us."

Rosalind laughed again. "Keep your fingers crossed. You never know at this point."

…

Rosalind gently removed another pin from her hair and yawned as the chunk of auburn cascaded down. She brushed her hair quickly, trying to get to bed as soon as possible. She heard a light knock on her door as she placed the brush down.

"Yes?" she called.

He father walked into the room quietly. "Getting ready for bed already?" he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically even though it was only nine o'clock at night during summer break. "I'm exhausted. This being pregnant thing is getting old."

Her father let out a snort of amusement. "Did you have a good time today?"

"Yes." She said with a large grin. Her honest answer and blatant happiness eased some of the worry he had been carrying around since the day he found her papering his office. "I got a lot of nice gifts. This is going to be one well taken care of child." She added, patting her belly affectionately.

Snape let a small grin creep onto his face for a moment but it faded as Rosalind flew up from her seat.

"What the…?"

Rosalind rushed past him making a beeline for her bathroom. "This goddamn baby needs to get off my bladder!" she yelled before slamming the door behind her. Snape chuckled to himself as he yelled his goodnight. He closed the door behind him lightly and went off to get ready for bed himself.

He had just finished tying his robe shut when he heard Rosalind's hurried footsteps before she appeared in his doorway.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

She looked extremely frightened and her voice shook as she spoke. "I-I think my water just broke."

Her father's mouth opened and closed a few times before he choked out "Are you sure?"

"I think so. I mean it was exactly like the healers said it would be like." She said fretfully, her words running together. She let out a great breath breathe before saying "My God, what are we going to do?"

Snape took a minute to gather his thoughts before saying "You're going to get dressed and pack some things while I send out word that you've gone into labor. We have to get to Mungo's."

She nodded and ran off to get ready as he cast a quick Patronus to notify the other others that tonight would be one long night.

…

It was about seven or eight hours later that Severus Snape found himself outside of a delivery room door with a hodgepodge of people, all in varying stages of sleep. Lily Potter lay passed out across James' chest while Scorpius tried desperately to stay awake, rubbing his eyes frequently. He, himself, could not let sleep come. Rose and Celia had stayed inside the room with Rosalind while he was banished outside. All he could do was pace, consumed with worry.

James followed the anxious father lazily with his eyes. "Rosie came out about ten minutes ago saying she was starting to push. It shouldn't be too much longer."

Snape threw him a death glare in return.

"Just trying to help." James muttered.

"You Potters," Snape muttered in return. "always trying to _help_."

James merely let out a huff. It was 5 AM and he was working on about two hours of sleep. He was not in the mood to pick a fight.

There was at least another forty five minutes of anxious pacing before Celia burst out of the room, a warm flush spread across her cheeks and a small grin brightening her features.

"It's a boy!" she called. "A healthy baby boy! They're both fine. You can start visiting them in about fifteen minutes."

Snape laughed; a noise the students had never really heard before. He laughed partially in relief and partially in joy.

"_Of course."_ He said. "Of course it's a boy."

…

Snape waited patiently as Scorpius and James and Lily all visited with the new mother and her baby. He sat and watched as each of the teens walked in and eventually left. Lily was the last to leave the room, right behind her brother.

"There should be an Auror outside waiting to take us back to the safe house, so we'll be going. Rosalind wanted me to ask you to come in before we left though."

Snape nodded as they waved goodbye. He took a deep breath and listened to the quiet hum of healers murmuring their enchantments, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to walk into. He took a few minutes before finally getting up and walking into the room.

Rosalind was nestled in between three or four pillows, propping her up. She looked exhausted, a thin veil of sweat covered her skin and hair was quickly falling out of the ponytail. In her arms was a bundle of cloth which held a small squirming baby.

Her eyes didn't look up from the baby when he walked into the room but she smiled as she heard his footsteps.

"Finally. I thought you had gone home." Her exhaustion showed in her voice. It was quiet and tired.

"Go home and do what? Worry from there?"

Rosalind finally looked up to meet her father's eyes. "I was basically waiting around to start pushing until an hour and a half ago. You could've gotten some sleep."

Snape chuckled and said "Even if I was home I wouldn't have slept."

At Rosalind's questioning look Snape responded "You're a parent now. You'll understand soon enough."

Rosalind smiled at him and said "I can't believe that myself." looking back down at the baby.

Snape let his eyes wander down to the tiny being in his daughter's arms. "Congratulations on being right on his gender, by the way. I will never doubt maternal instinct again."

Rosalind chuckled lightly in response. She ran her fingers across the now sleeping child's face before looking back up at her father. "Would you like to hold him?"

The man held out his arms in response and Rosalind gently handed over the infant. The baby's eyes fluttered open when he was settled in the crook of Snape's arm. He let out a large sigh of relief when he was able to take in the child's face.

"What?" Rosalind asked.

"I was afraid we'd have yet another James Potter clone."

Rosalind laughed and shook her head. "Well you lucked out. He's a pretty good mix."

He had a thick patch of dark brown hair that was sure to be as messy as his father's. He had also inherited his mother's bright hazel eyes and full lips. But he had gotten his father's straight nose and strong jaw and cheek bones. Across his face was a smattering of Weasley freckles. He was equal parts Rosalind and Albus, both parents' features seen clearly in him.

"What've you named him?"

"Well I wasn't sure at first." Rosalind explained. "Originally I was going to name him after you. But then I figured that'd just get confusing around the house. Plus there are so many people named after people in our family already. So I decided to give him an original name I liked."

"And that would be?" Snape asked.

"Tristan." Rosalind said. "Tristan Bryan Snape."

Snape arched an eyebrow as he asked "Feeling Arthurian?"

She shrugged and gave another chuckle. "I guess so. He just seemed like a Tristan to me."

"You realize that Tristan means sorrow, right?"

"Yes. I realized after I had signed the birth certificate. But I didn't do it on purpose. **(A/N: coughcoughTessoftheD'Ubervillescoughcough**) I hope his life will be anything but sorrowful."

Snape nodded in agreement and said "We can certainly hope so." before laying the child in the crib next to his mother. He let Tristan's small hand encircle his finger for a moment before he pulled away. He looked up at Rosalind who was fighting to keep her eyes from closing.

"Rest." He commanded. "I'll go home and get everything ready for your return."

Rosalind nodded and yawned. "Okay. See you later, Dad."

Snape gave a small sigh before leaning over and giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead. He pulled back quickly, feeling awkward and was met by a small snore. He patted his unconscious daughter's hand once before saying "You've done well, Rosalind."

…

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Lily asked her brother nervously.

"Our escort never showed up and we can't floo of apparate anymore because it's easy to track that stuff. We'll be fine. Whose up on a Sunday at 6:15 to catch us walking back home?"

Lily just squeezed her brother's hand tighter. It took them another half hour to get back to the house. When they got back to the small home they had been sharing for nearly three months, they knew something was off. Outside, it looked perfectly normal. Dew was gathering on the lawn and the wind chimes Lily had made in the third grade were whistling in the wind, but something was off.

When James and Lily approached the door they noticed that it was slightly ajar. They exchanged nervous looks before they pushed open the door the rest of the way. James drew his wand carefully. James had to squeeze Lily into his side to muffle her scream when she saw the dead body of the Auror that was supposed to escort them home lying on the floor.

"Stay out here." James hissed into her ear. "No matter what, if you hear a struggle run. You hear me? Run. Go get help."

Lily nodded, tears in her eyes.

James walked slowly into the room, his wand at the ready. He padded silently towards the back of the house. He saw that the back bedroom's door was opened slightly and kicked it open. He lost his breath at what he saw within. He dropped his wand in shock; it clattered against the hardwood as his companion smiled.

"Hello Brother. It's been a while."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

James whirled around and saw his brother, the pads of his fingers pressed together in a classic maniacal gesture. Albus' mouth twitched into a smirk as he saw his brother's face drain of all color. He set his folded hands on the table before him.

"Been waiting for me?" James managed to choke.

"Sort of," the younger boy conceded. "Please. Have a seat." James looked around the dank hollow. There was no chair to be seen. He turned back to his brother, and raised an eyebrow.

"I-" Albus whipped his wand from an unseen pocket in his robe, and waved it once.

A chair popped out of the air, and clattered to the floor. After a moment of tense silence, James sat in the chair, and looked at the other boy.

James thought that his face was the drawn out, gaunt version of his brother's face. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, as though he couldn't honestly believe that the washed out figure before him was his brother.

"Well, why're you here Albus? Here to spew some more nonsense?" James asked, with a bitter edge.

"Are you calling it _nonsense_, my brother?" he growled. James' mouth twitched.

"Yes Al, I am. You're upsetting _everyone_." he said earnestly. Albus let out a dry chuckle. James began to wonder where his wand was in his clothes.

"Who'm I upsetting, James? _You_?" he asked.

"Not just me, Lil too. She's been in hysterics nearly every night since you've gone missing." he said. Albus shrugged.

"Why don't _you_ take care of her then? Since you _are_ her one remaining family member, don't you think that's your responsibility now?" he asked. James felt his wand stabbing his left thigh, and slowly moved his hand toward it.

"You're part of the family too. You could help me raise our sister." he said.

"Oh could I? Suddenly, I can _help_ you." Albus' eyes shifted lazily to James' left hand.

"You'd think that you'd at _least_ have a bit of responsibility where Rosalind is concerned." James said sternly. His hand stole into his pocket as unnoticeably as he dared. He didn't see his brother's eyes slowly change a pair of shining oiled discs, burning with an inner light that was both unexpected and unnerving.

"Rosalind ran away from _me_. She can take care of herself. And I plan on sending for her as soon as I can." Albus said. James' brow furrowed.

"There are some things that you don't know about Rosalind. She didn't need to be left alone now. You could've at least tried to chase after her." James said.

"You think I don't _love_ her?" Albus asked.

"It doesn't seem you do, the way you've treated her." James retorted. Albus clawed at the armrests of his chair.

"Don't test me, James." he growled.

"Are you threatening me Albus?" James asked. He stood, brandishing his wand at the young boy in front of him. Albus allowed the same laugh to slip from his lips. James took a step back.

"What do you propose to do with that?" he asked.

"Father would be horribly disappointed in you, if he could see you." James hissed. All the mirth on his brother's face slid away in a second, to be replaced by boiling rage.

"What did you say?" he asked quietly. James looked away.

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!_" Albus screamed. James backed away a few steps.

"I said that father would be _horrified_ to see you the way you are! You've hurt the only girl who loves you, completely destroyed your relationship with the family you've got left..." Albus' teeth were grinding against one another.

"One thing I know, Al," James said, frowning. "Dad would be ashamed of you."

Albus stood, and hurled the table across the room with one thin hand. Paper, ink, and quills went flying everywhere. The table, an ancient thing, splintered as it hit one of the unseen walls. James flinched.

"Ashamed of me, James?" his brother shouted.

"Yes, you waste! You don't even know what you've put her-"

His brother was not fated to finish that sentence. He was struck by the sound of the screamed words from his brother's mouth. By a jet of emerald light that threw him into a wall and crumpled him like a tin can.

James was not fated to say one thing more. And never did.

...

Lily was brought through a long, white corridor, until the two taller people stopped her. They moved the thick, white curtain to expose thick, white flesh with dark hair falling on the forehead. Contusions on the head and neck and shoulders where the body had hit something hard. Killed by the Killing Curse. Death instantaneous.

Lily fisted her right hand and allowed the other to tangle in her red hair. She opened her small, rosy mouth and began to scream.

...

"Look at me." Lily looked up, and giggled. Then looked down at her palms.

"She's gone," Snape said. "Completely _gone_." Rosalind stared at the little girl, who was hugging her scrawny shoulders with her freckly hands and laughing quietly at a private joke no one else seemed to understand, and burst into tears.

"She's only...she can't be more than...oh _father_." she wept in her father's arms. Lily stood, and walked to the closed window, placing her palms on the glass.

"Oh father..." Rosalind watched the girl from the corner of her eye. Lily tapped the glass with her forefingers, and hummed tunelessly to herself.

"I don't know," Lily said, breaking the tearful silence. "I think I may...just..." she threw open the window, but before making the leap, was caught around the middle by Snape. He held the wrestling child in his arms as she screamed, making inhuman sounds that he wouldn't have expected to come out of the mouth of a feral tiger.

"_JAMES!_" she screeched. "_JA-A-A-AMES!_" After a long period of kicking and screaming, Lily went very limp. The only sound in the room was her breathing, and Rosalind's soft weeping from the rooms opposite corner.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

_Dear Rosalind,_

_McGonagall and your father think it's best if we stay under the radar for awhile. If he killed James, it's possible that he might come for us as well. Stay safe and give Tristan a hug for us. We hope to see you soon. But if something does happen, always know that we love you and make sure to tell Tristan that his godparents loved him to pieces every single day._

_Love,_

_Rose and Scorpius_

Rosalind shivered as she reread the letter she had gotten this morning. It had been an abnormally cold summer evening. Her body ached all over and she found it even hard to fix the blanket around her. After what had happened with James and then Rose and Scorpius' departure, she hadn't been able to really rest and recover from the strain of labor.

But as she lay in bed, overwhelmingly tried, she could not put her busy mind to rest. As much as her body ached, her heart ached more. She had been plowing on through everything that had happened over the past year. She'd be set back for a while but always bounced back eventually. But everything was building and building, and no matter how strong she was she was only human. One day she would snap. She was tired, she was in pain and when she did manage to fall asleep it seemed like it was only ten minutes later that Tristan would wake her. And now any direct connection her baby had to his father was officially severed by Albus' own hand. James dead; Lily far gone, her mind trapped in its own bubble of shock and grief.

Sure she would not be getting any sleep any time soon; Rosalind threw the covers off and stretched. She looked down and groaned to see that she was still in the sweater and jeans she had worn to visit Lily today. She had been so distraught at the lack of improvement in her friend's condition she had just collapsed into bed, not even bothering to put on a nightgown. She huffed and gently pulled herself off the bed. She changed slowly, trying to ignore the burning sensation moving about caused. She glanced into the mirror and without even thinking about did a small twirl. As she came to a halt she gasped her mind finally catching up with her subconscious, realizing that these were the same pajamas she had modeled for Albus nearly a year ago. She couldn't help a small, bittersweet grin smirk spread across her features as she thought of his response.

"You're a regular sleeping beauty."

The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention and her skin prickled with fear. Her mind told her to scream or something, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed in shock and fear. The voice that had uttered his response was not in her mind, but real. Rosalind slowly turned towards the window frame, shaking like a leaf. Her eyes were the last thing to arrive, wide with fear they took him in. He was gaunt and barely recognizable. He wore a gentle smile that on his old face would've been sweet, but on this new crazed face it looked grotesque.

He slid into the room soundlessly walking towards the quivering girl without a word, that same smile on his face. "Oh Rosalind," he whispered, not a breath away from her. "you're still so beautiful. I've missed you so."

He lifted his bony fingers to her forehead pushing away a lock of hair. She flinched at his touch, still shivering. His eyes furrowed together

"Haven't you missed me, Rosalind?" as she moved her face even farther away from his touch.

"What are you doing here Albus?" she asked, her voice trembling.

He gave a tiny laugh. "I used to visit you here all the time, remember? You had no problem then."

"Things are different now Albus."

"How so?" he asked, genuinely sounding shocked. "I still love you. You still love me. We're still together. I haven't been around lately, but nothing's really changed."

Rosalind turned her eyes back to his face hesitantly, scared of what may happen. If he had no problem killing his own brother, who's to say she'd be any different?

"_Everything _is different now." Her voice was still trembling, no matter how hard she tried to keep it steady. "More than you even know."

Albus watched as she backed towards the door slowly, fear clearly etched in her features. She was _frightened of him. _Albus couldn't believe it. What had he done?

"What's the matter with you?" he yelled, not able to accept that she was indeed scared of him. "You look frightened."

"You killed Rhea. You killed your own brother, Albus. How can I know that I'm not next?"

His lip curled up into a snarl as he forcefully took hold of Rosalind's wrists. "How can you think that of me? Rhea was a murderer and James was no more a brother to me than any other man on the street. They deserved what they got."

He shook her violently as he spoke to emphasize the point. She could practically feel the bruises forming where he held her, but she didn't scream or cry for help. She didn't because somewhere, deep within her, there was still a part of her that loved him and she knew that if she called for her father he'd have Albus thrown in Azkaban.

They just looked at each other for a moment, not sure what to do next. It had been too long and too much had come between them. It was impossible to pick up where they left off, especially with such a large secret hanging between them. Months ago, she would have said that Al deserved to know that he was father no matter what happened between them. But now, she hesitated. She was frightened of what he would do, of how he would react. He was a different person now.

"How can I prove to you I still love you?" he whispered harshly. "I can see you don't trust me. I can see it in your eyes." He said, his voice sounded choked, as if he was fighting back emotion.

Rosalind shook her head, not sure how to respond. She didn't know if he could ever gain her trust back. When she voiced this sentiment Albus let out a heart wrenching sob and flung himself in her arms, twisting his arms around her waist. His embrace was cold and bony; Rosalind couldn't help but let a few tears fall herself at how pitiful it all was. She hugged back slowly and did not protest as he started kissing up her neck towards her jaw.

"Please," he whimpered between each kiss. "please take me back."

When he finally laid his lips against hers again she couldn't help but twine her fingers through his hair and pull him closer. It was if in that moment, that she could pretend that everything was back to normal and that this was just another late night visit. But that perfect delusion ended when a shrill cry rang through the air. Rosalind pulled away from the embrace with a gasp.

Her frightened mind worked a thousand miles per hour, trying to find an excuse to tell Albus.

"Is that a baby?" he asked thoroughly confused.

"Yes." Rosalind answered. "I'm babysitting for a neighbor." She said it quickly, trying to clear her face of all giveaways that she may be lying.

"Go!" she quietly exclaimed. "Go, before my dad wakes up to check on him and finds you."

He looked confused for a moment but let Rosalind push him towards the window anyway. He looked at her one more time before whispering 'Goodbye' and disapperating with a pop.

Rosalind only took a moment to compose herself before rushing off to tend to Tristan.

…

"Are you kidding me?" Rose yelled while Scorpius smiled back.

"Of course I'm not. Rose, we could die tomorrow. As much as it hurts to say it Al or one of his goons can bust in here tomorrow and kill us no problem. I want to do this before it's too late."

Rose shook head. She knew what he said was true, but this was all so sudden.

"Scorp, I don't know. This is all going so fast. None of our family will be there…"

"We'll get Rosalind on the way!" he exclaimed. "And floo everyone else from her house."

Rose still looked skeptical. Not wanting to give into such a ridiculous scheme, the former Ravenclaw was used to looking at all the options before making a decision. She was never one for rash, spur of the moment things.

"Rosie," Scorpius began, taking her face between his hands. "Look at me. Before I die I want to be able to stand up in front of all the people that care about us and say that I'll love you forever. I want to be able to call you Mrs. Malfoy. I want to be able to say to someone 'That's my wife.'

"I love you, Rose Weasley. So I'll ask one more time," he said, slipping the promise ring off of her finger. "Will you marry me tonight?"

Rose sighed and shook her head, not quite sure why she said what she said next, but nonetheless she responded "Yes, I'll marry you."

Scorpius slid the ring back onto her finger before kissing her quickly. "C'mon. If we want to get there at the time the minister said he'd be there we have to get dressed and leave now."

Rose nodded and despite her previous hesitancy smiled. The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with Scorpius' logic. She loved him, and if something happened tomorrow she would want to be able to say that they had married, despite their family names.

So she searched through the tiny closet of the cramped refugee house until she found a suitable cocktail dress that she had brought on a whim. She quickly changed the gown from green to white with a tap of her wand and was off with Scorpius towards Rosalind's house before she knew it. She had never seen him happier.

…

Rosalind had just managed to block out the events of earlier that evening and start to fall asleep when she heard the persistent knocking on her door. She groaned as she hauled herself out of bed. She was more annoyed than frightened. She knew that if it was Albus back again he would've just come through the window.

She only beat her father to the door by a second. He was mumbling incoherently about how people had no sense, knocking on doors at ungodly times at night.

Rosalind shrugged before swinging open the door. She gasped when she saw Rose and Scorpius before hugging them tightly. Snape merely grumbled "What possessed you two to leave your well protected house to come here at two in the morning, dressed like you're going to a ball?"

Rose and Scorpius smile bashfully before admitting. "We're getting married."

"Now?" Rosalind asked.

They nodded their heads fervently. "I met a minister when I went into town this morning. When I told him about Rose he said that he'd be honored if he'd be the one to marry us. And well…given certain circumstances, I figured sooner be better than later. He promised to keep the chapel open until four for us. We were hoping we'd be able to floo Hugo and Ted and Victorie from here and then all of us could go."

Rosalind blinked for a moment, waiting for all the information to sink in while her father chided them. "You were stupid to leave the house at all, especially at night. What were you thinking? I have half a-"

"They're here now, father." Rosalind cut in. "So we might as well help them"

Rose smiled and hugged Rosalind again briefly before turning towards the fireplace.

They were luckily able to get in touch with everyone and had gotten to the chapel in record time. The chapel was dark except for a few lone candles and the rings were old pieces that Ted and Victorie didn't want anymore. Victorie had brought a dress for Rosalind and had helped with the girls' hair. She even let Rose borrow the Delacor family headpiece. The candles made the diamonds glitter radiantly in Rose's bright red curls. Luckily the chapel had a garden in the back so they were able to have a makeshift bouquet for her. The whole thing was obviously pulled together at the last minute, but was still perfect in its own way. All the guests, though tired were happy for them and supported them. Rosalind thought that she had even caught her father smiling once or twice through the ceremony. Tristan slept soundly in her arms even when everyone clapped while the couple sealed their union with a kiss.

The couple, with hands clasped tightly together, turned to walk down the aisle together. They had nearly made it to the end when the doors to the chapel flew open. Rose gasped in surprise, her hands tightening around Scorpius' and her wilting bouquet of random garden flowers.

"Dad." She breathed.

The room was silent; no one even dared to move. Ron was panting as if he had just run a mile, Hermione stood a few feet behind him. She looked like she was about to burst into tears as she looked between her husband and the daughter she hadn't seen in months. Hermoine was joined by Fleur and Bill, who stood on either side of her, Fleur looking particularly guilty.

Ron's eyes scanned over her, darting all over. "You're married?" he said, breaking the silence in a quiet tone.

Rose gulped quietly before whispering "Yes." in return; she heard her mother let out a sob. Rose flinched a bit, but otherwise stayed silent.

"How did you find out?"

Fleur looked up from where her eyes watched the floor guiltily. "It was me." she said, French accent still heavy after all these years. "Victorie asked me for the headpiece. Don't blame her, she did ask me to keep quiet, but you must understand. As a parent I wouldn't want to miss my daughter's wedding. I am sorry Rose, but I had to tell them."

Rose nodded. "It's okay," she said quietly "it would have come out eventually anyway."

Another silence consumed the room as Ron cast his eyes down. It wasn't broken until Rose let out a great huff.

"Goddamn it, Dad!" she yelled, obviously exasperated. "I'm your daughter! We love each other and if you got to know Scorpius you'd realize that is nothing like those people who tortured mom! Nothing! I am not giving him up, especially not now. We have lost _so much _Dad. You, me, this entire family. Haven't you had enough?"

Ron remained silent, glaring a hole into the floor. Rose continued to look right at him, her stare not faltering. She saw her mother's hand curl around her father's shoulder. "Ron." She whimpered. "Ron, she's right." She watched as her mother sobbed hysterically and begged her husband to listen, to say something, to _move. _A part of Rose's heart broke watching her mother, who looked as if she had aged fifteen years since she saw her last, pleading so desperately. She was just about to cut in before her mother screeched "_Fine!" _with one last slap to Ron's shoulder. "Do what you will Ronald! But I'm not letting this go on any more!"

Rose didn't even see her mother move, it happened so quickly. But before she knew it her mother had wrapped her arms around her chanting "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry" over and over. Rose wrapped her arms around her mother in return, rubbing her back and suddenly it was all okay. An overall calm consumed the chapel, crashing down like a wave and lingering before retreating. It was this atmosphere that made it seem perfectly normal when Ronald Weasley let out an almighty sob and collapsed onto his wife and daughter and wrapped his arms around them tightly. His cries of apology were muffled by his tears and by the fact that his face was buried deep in the crook of Rose's neck.

The family clutched to each other for a long time only parting to start the introductions after at least twenty minutes. Rosalind couldn't help the tears from falling at the scene.

At her obvious sniffling Snape clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Oh, _honestly_, Rosalind." He began before pulling his old, worn handkerchief from his cloak. "You can't even blame it on pregnancy hormones anymore."

Rose took the offered piece of cloth quickly and said "Everyone is supposed to cry at weddings! I'm sure you'll cry at mine one day."

The look he gave her next conveyed many things, but mostly it said _'Care to rethink that statement?'_

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait! Don't forget to review!**

She sighed as she handed the handkerchief back. "Or not."


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry for the long wait guys! I'm updating two chapters now to make amends!**

**Warning! We've resurrected yet another character JK Rowling decided to kill off. Hope you don't mind. **

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all. **

* * *

Chapter 25

Albus, rather inexplicably, found himself in a field. He was wearing whatever he'd fallen asleep in the night before-filthy jeans, an old Chudley Cannons tee shirt, and charcoal grey robes-but could somehow feel the sun's warmth, as though his skin was bare. He smelled the vague aroma of wildflowers, and in the very far distance, heard a stream patter against stone. He felt strangely different in this field. He felt lighter. He felt strangely powerful, as though everything could and would go his own way. He felt happier, even. Albus had nearly forgotten what the word "happy" meant.

As he walked, he shrugged his robes off. The day was far too warm for them anyway, and they reeked of everything his bedroom in Godric's Hollow stank of. He could feel a spring emerging in his step, a grin spreading on his mouth. He even went so far as to grab a fistful of wildflowers and smell them, before continuing on his journey. Before long, he broke into a run, laughing loudly. Somehow, everything was right in the world. Everything was okay. He was a boy again; young and carefree and bright. He looked up at the huge sun, and smiled at it. The first true smile he'd smiled in weeks.

"Al?" A soft voice. A familiar voice. He turned and saw Rosalind smiling brightly at him, looking more beautiful than ever before.

"Rosalind?" the words flew from his lips like joyous birds. His grin widened, nearly splitting his face. He rushed up to her, and swept her in his arms, laughing loudly, happily. He heard a sound that he had been deprived of for months-Rosalind's sweet, musical giggle. He hugged her hard, as hard as he dared, and held her at arm's length.

"But I thought you hated me. I thought...I thought you didn't love me anymore." he whispered. She laid a hand on his cheek.

"I will never stop loving you Al. Never." the lips that spoke those words were soon pressed against his own, and he felt as though his heart would burst with happiness. After she pulled away, he opened his eyes.

"Oh Rosalind, I'm so happy, I-" she took a step back.

"Rosalind?" Albus asked, confused. She took another step, and another, and another. Her sweet, genuine smile had turned into a painfully forced grin. Her eyes looked empty and dull, as though a dementor had sucked the soul out of her. After a few more steps, she extended her hand. Her head lolled to the left.

"Rosalind!" he jogged after her, but for every step he took forward, she took two steps back, hand still outstretched.

"I'll never stop loving you, Al," it was no longer a promise, but rather a chant. A lie. "Never. Never. Never." Her grin slid from her face, and turned into a snarl. Her features had all gone grey and lumpy. Her hair was knotted and rumpled, her face broad and greasy and grey. Her eyes were completely dead, the bare hazel color nothing more than a taunt. A thick strand of drool slid from the corner of her mouth. She was pregnant, he realized. Hugely pregnant and disgusting.

"Rosalind?" he was frightened. Terrified. "Love?"

"Never..." Rosalind took one final step back, the hand that wasn't in midair resting on her stomach. "Never."

It was as though the floor slipped from under her. All at once she was gone, and Albus was left, looking at her as she plummeted from an unseen cliffside.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOO! NOOOO!" he screamed. He dove off of the cliff without thinking, but as he fell, he realised she was nowhere to be found. He was falling through darkness, feeling himself grow thinner and bonier and angrier as he fell. He felt power coursing through his veins, but not the same power he felt in the field. This was darker, this was thicker. This made his eyes narrow, and his face sallow. This made him hateful, and coldly angry. He looked up and saw, up above him, a baby boy gurgling, Rosalind clutching him. Her face was set in a hard line, its message clear.

"_AAAAAGUHHHHHHHHHH_" he shouted, feeling the cry rip through his chest like tissue. He looked one last time at Rosalind, before the blackness at the bottom of the drop swallowed him soundlessly, wordlessly, and completely.

...

Albus sat up in bed, sweating bullets. His thin chest heaved, and one bony hand went to touch his hair. Though he was sticky with sweat, his flesh was still cold to the touch.

"A nightmare," he said. "Only a nightmare." he stood shakily, and walked to his bedroom window. As he walked, he imagined he could smell something burning. He leaned against the windowpane and looked outside. There _had_ been something burning. Felix had started a fire with young muggle girl, and was feeding it with the limbs of her parents. Albus' face almost cracked into a smirk, and he looked at the flames. _Hope you're happy, dad,_ he thought. _We all know how much you hated muggles._

...

In Hogsmeade, there were no dreams being had. The nights were full of bustling activity like the days. Even though the word had gotten around that Albus Severus Potter was torturing and killing muggles in Harry Potter's name. Even though Cygnus Lestrange, the son of the mad, wicked terror, Bellatrix Lestrange had killed them. Even though their meeting could not have been far away. Life went on nearly untouched in Hogsmeade. People hustled through their business more quickly, perhaps. Perhaps no one was willing to meet anyone's eyes. Perhaps the words "how could he? The son of Harry Potter, killing muggles? Killing his own _brother_?" dangled from everyone's lips. Perhaps people were afraid to be out at night, to let their children and spouses out of sight, knowing that if one was caught by Cygnus' _or_ Albus' band, one could easily be torn to shreds, or tortured for seemingly useless information in a matter of moments. Despite all of the horror and worry, life seemed to move on as it always did.

Grimmauld Place was filling with Cygnus' followers. Cygnus had only barely slept since Rhea's death and Alice's murder. As he sat in the makeshift kitchen, a young girl approached him tentatively, putting a small, white hand over his.

"Cygnus?" he looked up tiredly at what could've been his youngest follower. She chewed her lower lip, and couldn't have been any more than eleven or twelve years old.

"Well, if it isn't little Lillian Lovegood. What can I do for you, my girl?" he said, trying his hardest to be happy and lighthearted for her benefit.

"Have some tea with me?" she asked shyly. "I'm having a little party in my room." He gave her a weary glance.

"Lillian, I appreciate your motives, but I really don't want any-"

"Oh _please_ Cygnus!" her eyes were wide and grey and begged him to follow. Cygnus' stomach did a flip as he looked into her face and saw Rhea peering back at him.

"Of course." he replied. She smiled and took his hand, and dragged him up a flight of stairs, into a room that was hardly big enough for him to stoop in. The walls were covered with fraying starry wallpaper, and as he watched them, they moved lazily to form constellations. Dangling from the ceiling was a mobile made of realistic looking planets, that spun around each other, defying their orbits. He couldn't help but smile, as he felt the little boy in him jump for joy. He'd loved astronomy as a child, and felt almost bitter that his parents had never allowed him to seriously pursue it at Hogwarts.

"Here's the tea, Cygnus." he looked down, and saw that she had seated herself behind a card table that would barely come to his knees if he sat in a chair. Grouped around the other sides of the table were a few dolls. Nearest to her was a stuffed bear and a pink rabbit wrapped in a yellow blanket.

"Aren't you a bit old to be playing with dolls?" he asked. She smiled dreamily.

"I suppose I must be. But they've been my best and _only_ friends for all of my life. Surely that counts for something." Cygnus felt his throat close on itself.

_A friendless childhood. Because Mother thought that I was a Black. Too good for all of those other children. Especially the muggles. Especially that filthy Greyback girl. Especially, especially the filthy dirty half bloods. Play with your cousins, she'd say. Play with me. I'm scared of you, I'd reply. I don't like the way you smile. Her little grin would vanish, and she'd shriek in fury and break a dish. I'd run into my room and cry. What else was there to do?_

In an uncharacteristic display of compassion, he grabbed her hand from across the table, and looked at her earnestly.

"I'm your friend, Lil. Don't you _ever_ forget that, alright?"

"That's wonderful, Cygnus!" she cried, pouring imaginary tea into his chipped mug. "Just wonderful."

...

"What were _you_ to my father?" The crooked, fat old man smiled, and showed cracked, yellow buck teeth.

"Ahh! Yes, H-Harry P-P-Potter!" the old man chittered. "Harry P-Potter, found me _very_ useful when he was trying to find out how his _own_ parents died. Of course, I supplied adequate information. I, uhm, even _helped_ him defeat the D-D-Dark Luh-Lord and become one of the most powerful w-wizards of our day."

"My father would've told me about you if you were as helpful as you say you were." Albus said suspiciously. The old man laughed, and began to circle Albus as quickly as he could, being slumped over a huge, thick walking stick.

"Well...why would he t-tell his son," he hissed. "After all, he'd want to seem a _hero_ to you." Albus pursed his lips. The old man continued.

"And why shouldn't he? I don't blame him, and I don't care for the credit myself..." he stopped walking, and thrust his face too close to Albus'. The old man reeked of dung and rotting flesh and despair. "But I've been brought here by your friend F-Felix...because you've hit a wall."

"What has he told you?" Albus' hand was already at his wand. Felix immediately threw himself to his knees, and stayed the younger boy's hand.

"No Master, I told him nothing. I only told him that perhaps...the Lestrange boy...was standing in your way of seeking the power that your father would have wanted you to have." he said, his voice all honey and oil. Albus' hand dropped from his pocket.

"Yes," he said dully. "Cygnus Lestrange has been a problem. He murdered one of my servants in cold blood, and has made threats on..." the words 'love,' 'girlfriend,' and 'wife' stuck in his throat. "...a close associate of mine. I want him dead as soon as I can afford." The old man smiled his cracked, yellow smile again.

"That can easily be arranged." Albus leered, and as he turned, was shocked to hear that the old man was still talking.

"But wouldn't you rather deal with him..._personally_?" he said. Albus turned to stare at him.

"What do you mean, _personally_? Isn't it enough that I have to deal with him at _all_, you globulous waste!" he shouted in a high voice. Higher than usual.

"I mean, Master," the word dripped off the old man's tongue with just the right amount of flattery. As though he'd been saying it for years. "I mean that perhaps this is a problem better to face yourself. Do not allow him to try to kill your servants and then not face him yourself."

Albus narrowed his eyes at the old man. At length, he spoke.

"Alright. You're right. I'm going to face him myself." there was something about the icy determination in his voice that sent a familiar spike of terror down the old man's spine. He smiled as one would smile at someone that one was about to steal hundreds of galleons from. He put his filthy, puffy hand on Albus' scrawny shoulder.

"I can make you powerful, boy." the old man said. "I can make you more powerful than you've ever imagined." Albus looked at Felix for a moment, uncertainty flickering in his expression for a moment.

"Your father would be proud. He'd be proud of what you've done...what you still need to do." he said, Albus still turned from the old, lumpy face. He turned back to face the old man, and slowly nodded. His hand hand slid from Albus' shoulder.

"What do I call you?" Albus asked at length. After a moment of thinking, the old wizard answered.

"Call me...Scabbers, Master. Scabbers will do."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

Rosalind smiled as she looked down at the sleeping two-week old in her arms.

"So, we're all set for tomorrow?" she asked her father sitting across the table from her.

Snape didn't even look up from his tea and Daily Prophet when he responded. "Yes. The nursery is all set up in my quarters. I had them move a bed in as well so you could stay with him at night."

Rosalind nodded. "Thank you."

Snape hummed in the back of his throat in response. "Just be sure to put a silencing charm on the room. I've done my time caring for screeching babies. It's all you now."

Rosalind rolled her eyes before leaning over and laying Tristan in his bassinette. She sighed as she watched him snuggle into the blankets. He looked more like his father than ever when he slept; his face calm.

"Father," Rosalind started hesitantly. She had been holding this in for weeks. She knew she needed to tell him. "Would you promise not to kill me if I told you something?"

Snape's eyes lifted up from his paper slowly to meet his daughter's. He sighed. "That statement never comes before anything good."

Rosalind looked down guiltily and Snape let out an exasperated sigh.

"Rosalind, I think that it's safe to assume that if I haven't killed you for what's happened in this past year alone that whatever you have to tell me next will hardly faze me."

Rosalind nodded and took a breath before blurting it out. "Albus came to visit me last week."

It wasn't often that Severus Snape was caught off guard or surprised in any way but this was, to say the least, a shock.

"What?" he shouted, anger glinting in his voice.

Rosalind winced, the words pouring out before she could contain them. "The night Rose and Scorpius got married, before they came. He was just at my window. I was so scared; I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I knew I couldn't call out for you because he'd either kill me or you and Tristan needs us both."

Her lips quivered as her father continued to look at her, anger still etched in the hard lines of his face. "Please, father. I didn't know how to tell you. He hasn't been back since."

Severus took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself before looking back up at his daughter. "I'm not going to yell at you and tell you what you did was idiotic Rosalind, because there's no use now. But what I do want you to do is tell me right away if it happens again. And I think it would be smart of you to ask yourself why you didn't come get me after he left because you and I both know that if you had we probably would've been able to track him down."

The older man gently swept the crumbs off the table and got up soundlessly. He grabbed his newspaper and headed towards the doorway.

"Just some food for thought." He muttered before sweeping out of the room.

"Thank you so much for this, Dad." Rosalind said, excited.

Snape's face cringed a bit as he readjusted the squirming infant in his arms, but he muttered "You're welcome." anyway.

"I figured I'd let you enjoy your time with your friends while you could since you'll be sleeping in my quarters now."

Rosalind nodded and stood on her tippy toes to press a kiss to the side of her father's face. The train whistle blew a warning signal to all the students. Her eyes widened in shock, not having realized how little time she had.

"Rosalind, c'mon!" Celia shouted from the window of their compartment.

She turned back quickly and shouted "Coming!" before turning back to her father.

She leaned down and kissed Tristan's forehead gently and said "Bye-bye little one. Behave for Grandpa. I love you."

She gave her father one last awkward hug, trying not to squish the baby before running off to the train with a wave goodbye.

"It's feels weird, doesn't it?" Rosalind said quietly. Referring to the empty compartment they sat in. Rosalind and Celia were the only ones in the car sitting across from one another. The air was stale and cold. Conversation passed between them awkwardly, both of them thinking about how different the year before train ride had been.

"Yes, yes it does." Celia said, a solemn note tingeing her voice. "It feels…empty in here, like something's missing."

Rosalind couldn't help but agree. Just last year this room had been filled to capacity, people squeezed into the benches. Albus had been in the corner his arm wound tightly around her, sneaking kisses when he thought everyone else was distracted. Rose and Scorpius had been wedged next to Rosalind hands clutched together as they watched Lily and Hugo play a game of Exploding Snap in the floor of the car. Across the car sat Phoebe and Audrey both chattering and laughing brightly.

Everything had been so lively and bright; full of laughter and light-hearted fun. Everything had seemed so _perfect. _Now everything was so messed up. Scorpius and Rose were in hiding. Lily was in the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's. Hugo was off with some of his own friends, trying not to think too hard about Lily for fear of going just as insane as she. Phoebe and Audrey weren't even coming back to Hogwarts this year. Phoebe's parents had been one of the most recent mysterious disappearances of late. Whether they were dead or recruited and to which side, no one was sure. Audrey after hearing this had taken Phoebe in and they, along with Audrey's family, had moved away somewhere they thought to be safer. And it all was a result of Albus.

And even though Celia was there she wasn't the same. She looked tired. He eyes had deep purple bags underneath and if you looked closely you could see premature frown lines marring her otherwise perfect porcelain face. Celia had always been someone who took pride in her appearance, always perfectly polished with perfect make-up and bouncy hair and a flawless wardrobe. But today she looked small and defeated. Her small frame was drowning in a huge sweater and her hair drooped down limply around her face in chunks of platinum.

"So," Celia started, trying to chase away the dark mood. "how is the baby?"

Rosalind smiled at the thought of Tristan. He was the one bright spot in her life that made everything seem less horrible. When she was with Albus she thought that she knew what real love was, what it was like to love someone completely. She didn't know how wrong she was until her son was born.

"He's well. He's a good baby. He doesn't cry too much, only when he's hungry or needs to be changed. He almost sleeps the whole night through most of the time."

"Maybe you'll be able to bring him up into the dorms then. I wouldn't mind dealing with the crying every once and a while. It's going to be awfully lonely up there now that it's just me."

"Maybe I'll be able to bring him up in a few months, when he's a bit older." Rosalind mused. "And I'll still be in the common room and in the library. I'll still be around with you. You'll just have to sleep alone. Think of it this way; you'll have the bathroom all to yourself."

Celia laughed heartily, her first real show of emotion all day. "Well, that's definitely a plus."

Rosalind smiled as her friend's guffaws filled the car, the ice finally broken.

A jolt of pain went up Cygnus Lestrange's hand as it came slamming down onto the old splintered table.

"This is unacceptable!" he screamed. He met the scared eyes of his follower with fury. "How is it that every time I send you out you come back with at least twenty less men?"

"Master, please-"

"I don't want to hear it! If I hadn't already lost thirty men this evening alone I'd take care of you myself."

The man visibly shivered.

"Get out." He growled. "Before I change my mind."

The man scurried away quickly, knowing not to push it any further. Cygnus deflated, falling into the chair unceremoniously. Things were going sour. Albus was gaining power, his followers killing up to fifty of his men a night.

Cygnus knew what he had to do, this couldn't go any further. He grabbed his cloak before quickly apparating onto the familiar street in Clapham. He barreled into the bar without pretense; he knew they'd be there.

He bore his teeth as they all reached for their various weapons, the infamous Felix Bishop at the forefront of the action.

"Save it." He grit out. "I'm not here for a fight. I'm not interested in any of you. I need to see your Master. Now."

It was high time they met face-to-face.

Rose walked back into their small living room wearing a large smile.

"News from Rosalind?" Scorpius asked.

"Yep, everyone's settled in at school. And she finally sent a picture of Tristan!"

She plopped down on the couch next to her husband with an _oomph _and handed him the pictures while she continued to read the letter. Scorpius smiled at the image of his squirming godson. He never thought he could love an infant this much. He reached over to grab the frame they had been saving for when Rosalind finally sent the picture and slid it in carefully. When he was done he looked up to see his wife looking at him, an odd look in her eyes.

"Everything alright with Rosalind?" he asked.

"Yea, she's doing well. Looking forward to her final year."

"What's with the look then?" Scorpius asked, still confused.

"You really love him." She said, nodding towards the picture.

"Of course. He's my godson." He hesitated before continuing with a sigh. "I just, I look at him and I see Albus; Albus with Rosalind's hair and eyes. And I much as I know I shouldn't care about him, that I should hate him-I just can't. H-he was my best friend."

Rose scooted forward and wrapped her arms around her husband's shoulders. "I know. Believe me, I know."

The room was consumed in silence for a moment, both looking down at the picture, studying it.

"You're going to be a great father one day Scorpius."

He hummed in the back of his throat before setting the frame down on the end table closest to him. He wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and pulled her into his lap, tucking a stray red curl behind her ear.

"When all of this is over, when the killing is done and we don't have to hide anymore, I want to have a baby. Give Tristan a playmate."

Rose leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Scorpius' lips briefly. "I do too."

A large smile split across his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You're going to be a great mother."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapters! Chapter 27 will be out shortly! I promise. **

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


	27. Chapter 27

**Earlier today someone commented very negatively on this story, even going so far as to say something against my honor as well as my co-authors. Because of this instance we will not be posting Love's Labors Lost on this website any more. We stand by our work and we will continue to write for our own purposes and our own enjoyment. But I absolutely refuse to post my work on or be affiliated with in any way a website that allows such filth to be said to authors. No person deserves to be called an offensive, rude or vulgar term simply because someone doesn't like a story they've written. I do not put my work out there to be personally attacked or have it degraded it such a way, _especially_ when the person who does so hides behind anonymity.**

**To those of you who put this story on alert, reviewed it, read it-enjoyed it any way- thank you and I am sorry. But what was said to us was rude, unnecessary and just utter garbage. This is a website for constructive criticism. Your person is not to be demeaned, no matter the quality of work. I have deleted the comment from the reviews page but even thinking of it makes me want to vomit. We are disgusted and ashamed with what happened and I know that I cannot bring myself to continue posting here.**

**And if what was said is the general consensus then it's better that we do stop posting so that we have the opportunity to take our work somewhere where it'll actually be appreciated and not attacked.**

**Sorry again to anyone who read our story but we will no longer publish our work here.**

**~Joanna and Bronnie**


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